Meet the Parent
by Cozmos
Summary: she met her parent, she felt happy, she loved her parent. what's more can she ask for? isn't everything just too good..? last chapter 17 added!
1. Chapter 1

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself..!**

It was a sunny day. No sign of raining, storms, or any other thing from the sky that would make this pleasant bright day be disturbed. Some people were attempting to finish their job as usual, while the others were already having their freedom of doing leisure activities around at this time.

It was the same for Mireille and Kirika. They were in their small but comfortable apartment, doing their daily activities by their own. Although the apartment was a bit tiny for two residents to occupy, it seemed that it was enough for the two of them.

The Japanese girl was staring out from the window, looking at the blue sky ahead of her. Not even her partner, Mireille Bouquet, knew what was going on in her mind whenever the brunette did so. It was a mistery as to how such sun and star gazing could fascinate the quiet girl so much, but regardless Mireille just took no bother to do anything today despite her inner curiosity, and placed herself in front of her laptop, checking her e-mail.

"Seems that there is no job for us today," Mireille said, still paying attention at her laptop screen.

Kirika just nodded in silence, not even whispering a word as a reply. Her gaze was fully directed to that of the sky, of a black bird that stole her attention. Unconsciously her eyes went whenever the bird drifted off, following the movement of the bird. After a while of swirling and hovering, the black bird landed at a tree not far away from their apartment. After a few second of concentrating at the spot, Kirika realized that a bird nest existed there. The nest had about two little bird with different colors; one was black like the former, while the other one, the bigger one than the black, was entirely engulfed in white feathers .

Apparently the black bird who flew to the nest was the father; the fact that it brought some worms to the nest was enough to provide its intention. As the father bird put the worms into the nest, two hungry little birds hastily ate them, savoring them rather ravenously like those who had not seen food in months.

Then in the midst of all those normal activities, out of nowhere, all of the sudden, the older bird fell over from the tree.

No rough sound was made, but Kirika knew that the bird had fallen from the tree. Mireille, who was unaware of all these events, kept dazing still in front of her laptop, hands moving quickly on the keyboard. The blonde seemed to be busy sending some email.

Kirika turned around, then walked to the door without even glancing at Mireille when she said, "I'm going for a couple minutes." The girl drifted away, closing the door with a loud bang which still went unnoticed to the blonde inside.



Running outside, Kirika wandered her gazes around until she finally found the tree where the black bird got a nest. Hey eyes went bigger at the sight of the injured bird, lying unconscious beside the tree. It angered her as to why nobody noticed the bird's crucial condition, but paying not special attention to that she put the black bird on her palm then quickly ran back to the apartment. Kirika opened the door hastily as panic somehow crept its way in her mind. An animal lover as she was, the Japanese girl decided that she would not let this one life went away without any attempt whatsoever. Looking around, it seemed that Mireille was not in the vicinity of the living room, and judging from the sound of dropping water from the other room, Kirika concluded that the blonde was taking a bath.

'Where does Mireille put the first-aid kit..?' Kirika wandered around the house, still with the injured black in her hands.

In the midst of all her anxiety, she did not realize that she was later walking in circle. Pushing her feet to keep moving, the Japanese girl forced her brain to remember the last time she had seen the medicine kit. Somehow today, the panic had succeeded in overcoming the usual coolness in Kirika's head. The Japanese girl was fervently worried about the bird's wound. Despite all the panic going on, at first glance some people could tell right away that the bird only broke one of its black wings. Such knowledge of animal, however, did not exist in that of a genius assassin such as Yuumura Kirika.

Fortunately later, in the middle of Kirika's paranoid situation, Mireille stepped out of the bathroom. She had changed her clothes to a blue tank top with a mini leather skirt. She saw Kirika in the room, then smiled

" It was really just a couple minutes, eh..?" Mireille said, walking to her partner's direction. "So what did you do during those brief minutes?"

"?" Standing closer to the Japanese girl, now the blonde could notice something weird going on. The brunette neither answered nor made any inclination to response Mireille's question and just kept wandering aimlessly in circle. Usually she would nod or do something else, or at least made a bit reaction toward Mireille's inquiries. Now, however, her eyes were not shining with the same calmness the girl normally possessed, instead it showed some worry, one which almost looked like a fear.

"What happened??" Mireille asked, worry in her voice.

Like a miracle, Kirika stopped walking at that moment. She halted her steps, turned around, then looked at Mireille with the eyes of those who just noticed the other's unexpected presence.

"Mireille.." was all that came from the brunette's lips.

Then Mireille saw a black bird with a cricket wing in Kirika's hand, and everything became clear. Mireille had completely understood the affection Kirika harbored toward animals. She had come to realize that there would be no other option left when the short haired girl came to show up some animals to her. 

She would either ask her to take care for it, or cure it. And judging from the current situation, Mireille knew that the second option was the right one. She had seen the bird's wound, after all.

"Oh my... Let's go to the vet, then.., Kirika." Mireille muttered softly.

After 10 minutes walking in hurry, Mireille and Kirika finally found a vet clinic, not too far from their apartment. The clinic was a small, tiny cottage painted all over in yellow and red. Some Chinese symbols were also painted at the wall, emphasizing the oriental taste the owner had. When the two of them stepped in, they found a small room with another Chinese style, a low ceiling, and a small altar. Gazing around they found that there was no one here, thus the two of them were the only patient. They waited in silent, restlessly sitting on a comfortable little coach in the corner of the room. Stealing some glances to observe the environment, Mireille was aware of the fact that all the stuff in the room seemed to be brand new. There certainly were a lot of people migrating to live in this area, and this vet was likely to be one of them.

Suddenly a lady dressed with white showed up from the back of her little desk at the end of the room. Her steps were swift and brisk, and sensing her presence, both Mireille and Kirika stood up. The vet was a female who was now wearing a mask and white hat; aside from her eyes, all she wore was colored in white. At first glance, the lady was nearly in her thirty from the enigmatic look and the body posture.

" Can I help you, young ladies..?" the vet smiled at them.

Mireille replied her smile, then said "We need your help to examine this bird, please."

Kirika stepped forward and closer to the vet as she handed over the bird to the vet. The woman received it deliberately. Carefully the doctor brought the black bird to a small white table. She worked slowly, flashing light every now and then, changing tools rapidly, and made an unintelligible comment sometimes. The activities kept going in such way for at least fifteen minutes, all the while Mireille and Kirika waited in silence.

Too worried to wait any longer, Mireille inquired, "Sorry, Doctor-?"

"Just call me Doctor Naomi." answered the doctor, still busy examining the bird.

Dismissing the thought to ask such a trivial question, Mireille just decided to wait patiently and gave the doctor the space she needed to concentrate.

Half an hour later, feeling that she had restrained herself enough from speaking, Mireille chose to ask, "Doctor Naomi-"

" How is the bird..? " Kirika asked abruptly, cutting Mireille's line. The Japanese girl was obviously in panic, despite the stability of her physical look.

"It's over now, ladies." Dr. Naomi said, facing both of the girls with a smile on her face. She then gently removed her mask, so now both Mireille and Kirika could see her face a little more.



Doctor Naomi had a pair of crisp brown eyes; quite big for a Chinese, but too small for a Spanish. Her curly long black hair flowed down her shoulder like a mantle, adorning her heart shaped face beautifully. Her lips were small and delicate, almost resembled that of a petal. The vet directed some warm gazes at her patient, and the environment changed abruptly from very tense to that of calmness.

Mireille could not help but feel amazed as to how the vet reminded her of the figure of somebody she probably knew in the past. _Hmm.._

"What do you mean by saying that..?" Kirika asked, her tone indicating the urgency she believed had not yet left the arena.

"Well.. She is fine by now, if you ask me." Doctor Naomi said, still smiling. Putting the unconscious black bird in her palm, she approached Kirika and handed over the bird back to the Japanese girl who gratefully received it.

Awake from her thought, Mireille said, "Thank you very much, Dr. Naomi. How much do we have to pay, then?"

"Ah.., don't bother to pay. It is a relief that both of you are satisfied with my work," the vet replied kindly.

"We are really grateful for what you've done, and I think we need to act out our gratitude towards you by paying, Doctor." Mireille replied, taking out her purse.

Dr. Naomi smiled, "No.. No.. It's really nothing to bother.."

In the end, Mireille and Kirika paid nothing but a chat with the doctor. Mireille simply wanted to go home after finishing her business with the vet, but she knew that her small Asian friend did not want to go home yet. From the glimmering light in her eyes, Mireille could tell that Kirika was curious to learn more about animals with the vet.

To Mireille's surprise, they actually chatted until dusk. For their long chit-chat, the two finally knew that Doctor Naomi had just opened her clinic about a month ago. She lived in America before moving in here in order to meet her relatives in Japan. When asked more about themselves, Mireille and Kirika provided some safe and necessary information regarding themselves, and answered every question politely. They never even once intended to reveal their true identity as an assassin, no less to a stranger they just met. Finally as it began to grow darker, Mireille and Kirika excused themselves and walked home.

"Phew.." Mireille sighed.

Kirika said nothing but kept hold of the black bird as safely as she could. The blonde stole a glance at her expression, and finding nothing more than relief, smiled to herself. Neither of them tried to open up a conversation, thus they remained silent until they reached the apartment.



Mireille unlocked the door, then stepped in slowly. Marching to the pool table, she hopped and sat herself. "Do you want to take a bath first?" asked Mireille.

Kirika seemed to hesitate at first, but nodded in return. "Yes," she answered.

"Let me take care of him, then." The blonde suggested, pointing at the black bird wrapped in Kirika's small hand.

After making sure that Mireille could handle the bird while she was taking a bath, Kirika gave the bird to the blonde. Silently, she walked to the bathroom, never once leaving her eyes out of the bird in the blonde's palm.

As she heard the bathroom's door shut, Mireille gently put the bird in bed. She had no idea where else to put the bird for they simply did not have a cage for it. A bed might be the best place for it to rest, she decided. Satisfied with the way the bird now resting, Mireille turned on her computer to check her mail. Just when her mind started to think whether she should take a bath one more time or not, Kirika stepped out of the bathroom, revealing her white skin that was barely wrapped with towel.

The brunette expressionlessly whispered softly, "The bathroom is yours now, Mireille."

Lazily, the blonde stood up. "Thanks.."

-- This is basically my first fanfic.. Maybe all of you feel confused with the "un-Noir-like" story, but this is only the prologue. Please forgive me for any grammar, spelling or else mistakes in this fic. I would gladly appreciate if you will review this story..! And of course, this story hasn't ended yet, so keep on reading..! Thanks for reading..! --


	2. Chapter 2

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself..!**

It was another sunny day, though the weather seemed to be rather darker than yesterday. The sun had shown itself, a common sign of a beginning of days. The apartment where the two lived remained the same, despite its addition of an anonymous black bird.

Mireille was the first to wake as she could no longer sleep since the black bird's loud voice was banging onto her ears. She had no idea whether it was a singing or not, but it surely was enough to drive her crazy in the early of the morning. Taking a new towel from the closet, she once again proceeded to take a bath. By the time she was finished, the blonde saw her partner was already awake, and was trying to feed the black bird with fresh fish.

Giggling, the blonde said, "If it can eat worn, it doesn't mean that it can eat any animals, Kirika."

Kirika blinked impassively at Mireille. "He was too cute when I saw him gazing at the fridge."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mireille asked, perplexed.

"I just tried to feed him with whatever is in the refrigerator," the short haired girl stopped for a moment, and kept her eyes focus to the bird in front of her before continuing, "and you coincidentally saw me while feeding him with this fish.." Kirika then smiled cheerfully resembling that of a kid when they first found an interesting toy to play with.

Precisely this time, Mireille had come to realize that most food in the refrigerator was put outside by Kirika alone. From dairy to fruits, it was not all scattered in the room. On the tables, on the floor, on the pool tables; it was all over the place.

"Well..,okay.. Do what you want to.., but remember to clean up the mess, Kirika." Mireile sighed, not having the heart to scold the girl.

Upon hearing the answer Kirika became too busy to bother or answer, and tried to feed the bird with a bottle of mayonnaise this time. The blonde was about to tell Kirika about how animals did not eat the things human eat, but rejected the thought when she saw the look of fun the Japanese girl was having. Moreover, the bird itself seemed to be smart enough not to receive any strange food the brunette offered.

Sitting herself in front of her laptop, Mireille turned it on and started browsing randomly. She had kept searching for some information regarding Soldats for about three months now, and probably had resulted in almost nothing but information she already knew. It seemed like their organization was pretty skilled at hacking the technology.

"Let's see.." the blonde whispered softly, deciding that today she would probably better off searching a mission for the two of them.

"Mireille.." a soft voice called her name.

"What is it?" asked Mireille, didn't bother to glance or look at Kirika, the only one capable of producing such a tone.

Kirika hesitated for a second then said, "What do you think is in Kuro's mind..?"

"Huh?" This time the blonde stopped her activity and turned her back to see the person whom she was talking to. Kirika had by now stopped feeding the bird, and now staring at it in perplexity. _Kuro? She gave that bird a name already?_

"Hmm.. Why do you want to know what the heck is that bird thinking?"

Kirika whispered, "He looks bored."

After saying that, the one with oriental blood sat herself at the polo table, with the black bird acting restlessly in her palm.

_It does look bored, but why does he keep moving like that..? What a weird bird.._

"Hmm.." Mireille mumbled, closing her distance with the bird and Kirika. A few steps forward, and she was already beside the brunette.

"What should we do?" Kirika inquired, genuine concern in her voice.

Mireille implied, "Maybe he wanted to be free?"

To the blonde's surprise, for the next couple minutes nothing was being said. For every minutes passing by, Mireille had noticed that her partner's expression had changed slightly to what seemed like a melancholy state. It looked like what she said had deeply bothered Kirika's mind. Deep inside, the short haired girl probably knew the truth that the bird wanted to be free, but she wanted somebody to dismiss the thought. But instead of giving the support the brunette needed, Mireille missed the sign and said the exact last things Kirika wanted to hear at that time. Apparently the Japanese girl did not want the bird to go away, and once again the blonde was flamed with guilt for saying such line. Mireille felt really stupid for not noticing the things faster, and ended up hurting Kirika's feeling. Just right when the blonde wanted to say some word to apologize...

"... you're right." Kirika stated after quite a long silence.

"Er..." Mireille stuttered. "Maybe it's not right, Kirika.. It's just my-"

The Japanese girl had walked to open the window by the time Mireille was talking. Too late.

"Now you are free, little bird." Mireille heard Kirika whispered softly to the bird, as if it could actually hear her. "Bye, Kuro."

As Kirika bid her farewell, the black bird managed to flap its wings and slowly flew its way outside to the sky where it belonged.

"..." Watching the scenery in great surprise, Mireile was left speechless sitting on the pool table.

Then all of the sudden, a beeping sound came from the laptop, informing a new message. The blonde rushed toward her notebook, and read the new message in silence.

"I see," Mireile said after a while.

"..Anything new?" Kirika asked solemnly.

"A friend of mine said that we ought to be cautious of anything suspicious." answered Mireille, looking at Kirika's brown eyes. "In other words..," she looked at Kirika seriously, "Soldats have already begun their move."

With that, all the thought about the birds instantly escaped out of the two's minds, thus welcoming the growing unease - regarding Soldats in their minds.

Many days had passed since the day Mireille received the email. To tell the truth, nothing had happened. No gunshots, no murders, no bombs, and no such thing as danger. Kirika was staring at the sky, and Mireille was watching the comedy show at TV. The birds were chirping outside, and the brilliant sunlight was shining brightly, warming the earth gently with its radiation. It was peaceful and normal; the typical day when one would want to do was doze off all day.

Unless one feel threatened by Soldats, of course.

The Corsican girl was in fact having quite difficulties of letting go all the perilous thought going on in her mind. Even feigning to be interested in those stupid comedy shows became hard enough. The blonde glanced at Kirika who was standing peacefully, looking like having no worries whatsoever. Sighing, Mireille stood up and called her partner. "Kirika, want to go out a bit?"

The Japanese girl slowly tuned around, eyeing Mireille mutely for a while before whispering softly, "..Sure."

The shopping center the pair was going to was not too far from the apartment, presumably a fifteen minutes walk. Normally when Mireille had had the mood to go out, they would most likely spend the day outside until late. Moreover knowing Mireille, it had indeed become some kind of tradition that the blonde would at least bring three bags back home whenever she went out shopping. Fortunately this time, the trip was made out of boredom so the two, or rather Mireille, just intended to wander around the shopping center. They halted occasionally to look at the shop's display, exchanged some casual chit chats along the way, and discussed some things they found interesting. Time flew by unconsciously, and amazingly for the Corsican girl, the thoughts of Soldats' coming did not worry her as much as it did early in the day.

"Can we look at that shop?" Kirika;s voice inquired the question as the two passed the less-crowded part of the shopping center.

Surprised at this unusual request, Mireille looked at Kirika, and followed the Japanese girl's eyes gaze - where it was concentrated at one shop at the end of the road. Judging from the animal's logo in front of it, the shop was without a doubt, a pet shop. Instinctively Mireille nodded in agreement, and eventually they entered the shop.

As soon as the two stepped their feet inside, the smell of animals, and the sight of them trapped in cages were what greeted them. Immediately both Mireille and Kirika felt sorry for all the animals in the shop; they had no choice but to live in the cage, trapped without freedom. Regardless of that, however, the animals were lively enough. Some dogs were barking softly, the fishes were swimming, and the hamsters were dozing; somehow all the sound audible came from the animals. It was so noisy of animals that Mireille felt as if there was no one else human besides the two of them. Looking around the blonde came to realize that it might be true; the shop was empty save for the animals. Even the cashier was not around for the chair was left unseated. Shrugging, Mireille and Kirika in the end wandered around together, sometimes stopping to observe some unique animals that caught their attention.

"It sure is kind of... nasty." Mireille said, shaking a bit. She pointed her finger at a green, huge snake trapped in a mirror box.

"Yes." Kirika nodded her agreement quietly.

"I'll go look at something else," Mireille announced. "It creep me out."

The two then separated as the blonde went to the insects area, while Kirika approached the cat's zone. Stealing a glance at her partner's glimmering eyes, Mireille smiled to herself.

_You want a cat eh, Kirika?_

From Mireille's sight, it seemed to her that Kirika was currently forming her rare smile to a white fluffy ball being. Apparently, it was a cat engulfed in nothing but white fur. Giving Kirika the self privacy the girl might need, Mireille decided to entertain herself solely for a little bit more. Some minutes later, she slowly approached Kirika, who, as expected, was still having her eyes set on the fluffy cat.

"Do you want one?" the blonde asked, trying to sound indifferent.

"…" Kirika switched her gaze to Mireille for a brief second, before returning it back to where it was. "I just think that it is.. cute."

"Yeah," replied Mireille, looking at the white cat. "It sure is."

"Is it.. really okay to have one?" Kirika asked in a serious tone, despite her ever impassive expression.

Amused, Mireille curved her lips into a smile. If everybody thought Kirika was no good at expressing herself, then Mireille had proved herself to be worthy of being perceptive enough when it came to understanding the Japanese girl. Mireille knew that from the body language, and more importantly the eyes, that Kirika was longing to have a cat.

Mireille chuckled a bit, then said, "Yes. You can pick one, either that fluffy ball or the others."

The Japanese girl's brown eyes brighten one more time, and remained so even after she turned her head down to look back at the cat. "I like this one," Kirika said softly as her cheeks slightly turned red.

"Okay."

They bought the white cat, which unsurprisingly remained silent all the way. Not even a "meooww" came out from its round face. Right after Mireille and Kirika decided to purchase the cat, the shop assistant rushed out to greet them, and was obviously thrilled to have a customer. He was really excited that somebody actually came to buy, and became very friendly and laughing uncontrollably at all times. Surprisingly he was really generous, and even gave Kirika a free cage for the fluffy cat. After paying and thanking the cheerful shop assistant, they walked out from the shop. To their surprise as well, it was already night by the time they stepped outside; neither of the two paid attention as to how much time was spent during their time in the pet shop. The road was empty of people, and instead was caressed by the cool breeze of nights. The moon had now shone brightly, causing the street lamps to glitter even more in the darkness.

"Thank you." Kirika said after they walked a good couple minutes away from the pet shop. The Japanese girl fixed her gaze at Mireille's eyes, then give the blonde her simple, charming smile.

Seeing the smile, a warm feeling rushed through Mireille's heart, but for some reason she felt her body heat rising as well. Completely unaware of her reddening cheek, Mireille stuttered, "It's.. It's nothing. You barely got a present, anyway." The blonde faced away from the brunette, and pretended to focus on the road ahead.

_It's just a cat, isn't it..?_

Mireille was full in her thought, and did not realize that Kirika had suddenly stopped walking until a few second later. Expressionless as ever, the brunette just stood still, carrying the cat in the cage on one hand. Confused and at the same time worried, Mireille quickly sprinted near her partner. It was just a precaution, but every time Kirika halted for reasons unclear, it most likely would result in danger. Then as if to strengthen her conclusion, Mireille was astonished by an eerie bristling sound coming out of nowhere. The aura hovering around had somehow become really tense and thick to the point where all Mireille could sense was darkness and danger.

Pulling out her gun, Mireille could feet sweat dropping from her forehead. Whoever this person who caused such perilous and threatening aura to them was, he was smart enough. Examining the scenery around, she was sure that there was only one way out from this shopping area to their apartment; there was no other option. Nobody could escape freely in this road unless he could jump or climb really high.

Keeping their position back to back, Mireille and Kirika observed the area and remained silent. Somebody might just come and attack, and they must be prepared for it. Then all of the sudden, they heard a scream not too far from where they were standing. From the sound of it, a female was likely to be the owner. Both Mireille and Kirika were already on their ready to fight, thus without further conversation but a look at each other they carefully approached the pathway on their right, to the source of the scream. A side road as it was, as the two got closer it became darker. There was not a single lamp at this path, and all they could rely on was the moon's light; Mireille and Kirika had to trust their eyes to be able to look trough. Moving forward, they were forced to stop when their eyes spotted something on the ground.

Having been assassins for years, the two had a real understanding of what they had found without even need for looking. A group of man dressed in black uniform was killed and unconsciously laying on the ground. They were scattered all over, blocking the pathway the pair was supposed to be taking. Judging from the look of the wound, it was possible that they were all stabbed with sharp weapon, not a gun. Avoiding stepping on the men, the two carefully walked closer and closer until Mireille heard a suspicious noise and gestured Kirika to stop behind a thick wall. Conversation was barely heard, but Mireille was sure there was someone talking right at the other side of the wall.

She stole a glance at Kirika, and was utterly shocked when she realized a group of men with the same black suit they just saw were surrounding her and Kirika. She could feel the threat coming from the many guns directed at them, and was amazed as to how she had not yet dead as a corpse. How could she not hear them coming? Frustrated by herself, Mireille stared blankly at the ambusher, then at her partner. Calm and expressionless, the Japanese girl still remained her face as such, only that her gun was pointed nowhere but rest beside her waist now.

_Kirika?_

From the corner of her eyes, Mireille saw the Japanese girl made a little movement. As if in plan and perfect situation to communicate with each other, both Mireille and Kirika rolled and released the bullets in their gun towards the men at the same time. As a response some gunshots were being directed back at them, causing the two to run as fast as they could, dodging and attacking at the same time. Just as the opponent started to fall one by one, a splitting sound of air buzzed through the air, visualizing the sight of knives breaking through. A couple seconds later, all the man had fallen down, leaving Mireille and Kirika alone.

Trained to remain her vigilance after battle, and confused as to what exactly was going on, Mireille just stood still in her position holding her gun, waiting for any other assaulters. While Mireille was in her fighting pose, Kirika never changed her expression even during all those perilous situations they just had. The brunette went over to check the pulse of the victims instead, leaving the blonde on guard by herself. Slowly, Kirika pulled off a knife on one of the men's body, inspecting it carefully. After a while, the brunette grabbed hold of the knife tightly to her body, then stood up soundlessly after that, looking right at Mireille while she did so. The sound of gusting wind broke the silence, while the chill ran cold down their spines. The night was dark, and the wind was cold. But nothing gave the same chilling, cold effect that Kirika gave when she whispered,

"Chloe."


	3. Chapter 3

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself..!**

The night was dark, and the wind was cold. But nothing gave the same chilling, cold effect that Kirika gave when she whispered,

"Chloe."

Hold the knife in one hand tightly, Kirika silently put the weapon into her skirt's pocket. Not even bothering to clean up the blood mess on the knife, she forced down the knife regardless. After the taboo word being spoken, Mireille lowered her gun almost immediately. She knew that the situation was likely to be under control. It was Chloe they were talking about, after all. Of all people, it was no wonder how Mireille knew the most that Chloe would never let anyone hurt Kirika.

_Why was she here?"_

She would undoubtedly dwell over this matter further, but for now the blonde decided that it would be best to think about Chloe later. As the day was even darker than before, it was really difficult for the two to see the pathway to their house. Desire to just go home were running furiously inside Mireille's mind, shouting for her to just get out of here as soon as possible. Unfortunately for some reason, her curiosity won the best of her. Moving her eyes around, she found Kirika gazing emotionlessly at her, as if waiting for something to be said.

"Let's move on." Mireille muttered in a low voice. Pulling out her gun one more time, she started to walk back.

Kirika followed the blonde, and on they went to proceed and investigated the matter. Carefully they sneaked within darkness in silence, an ability one should possess when being a professional assassin. It was really dark, for nothing lit the way of their eyesight. It was really difficult to see anything even after adjusting their eyes to the darkness, thus both Mireille and Kirika had to completely rely on their instincts.

"M... my...body..." a weak small voice cracked from not far away.

Despite the darkness within, Mireille glanced back toward Kirika. The Japanese girl, however, gave no reaction and remained silent as ever.

"He-help.." said the same voice from before.

Kirika moved first and walked ahead this time. Mireille followed her steps, holding the gun tightly on her hand. A few steps later, the steps halted.

"Mireille.." the blonde could hear Kirika calling her name.

Rushing to stand beside her partner, Mireille was flabbergasted when she saw a dark figure of a woman lying down, most probably half-conscious. Despite the darkness surrounding them, the moonlight did shower its light onto this spot, revealing the woman's condition; her eyes were closed, and the body was greatly trembling. Her long curly black hair was in a mess, and the clothes she wore were badly ripped.

"Who... who's there...?" the woman's shaking voice broke the silence.

Mireille decided to approach the woman and said calmly, "We will not hurt you unless you made a suspicious move." While saying that, Mireille kept her gun inside her palm, ready to use it in case of necessity.

The woman did not reply nor do anything.

It was then that Mireille realized that the woman was seriously injured on the shoulder. Strangely this time there was no sign of sharp weapon – or knife - cuts from her body. Rather it seemed that the woman was just badly kicked and punched by somebody and accidentally hit herself to the stone wall nearby. Apparently the woman was just injured, no more; she was neither raped nor had her belongings stolen.

The woman was now shaking even more after hearing what Mireille said. The blonde decided to keep quiet as she saw the woman made a little move, and slowly opened her eyes. It was when the woman looked up at Mireille that the blonde gasped. Thanks to the opening eyes, she could now really see the woman's face clearly.

"Doctor Naomi..?"

Mutely Kirika stood herself beside Mireille, witnessing the same shock as Mireille, but saying no words nevertheless.

"Oh.. It's you." Dr. Naomi said with a weak tone. She tried to smile, tough it did not work and instead she revealed something more like a frown.

The vet tried to stand up herself, but failed. Just in time when Doctor Naomi would hit her head to the floor, Kirika caught her. Gently, the Japanese girl sat the doctor down, using both her arms as a support. Frankly, the two assassins had to admit that they were astonished, and puzzled to see the vet in here. Moreover the female vet was barely conscious, and was blatantly wounded. Her appearance was not much better; her clothes were tattered and dirty unlike the look she had when she was working.

"We have to help her, Kirika. Let's go," Mireille said sternly. "To our apartment."

Ducking down, Mireille placed Dr. Naomi's left arm on her shoulder, while Kirika carried the other one on her shoulder. Fortunately on their way back the use of guns was not necessary as they did not encounter any enemies. Mireille had actually expected and prepared to see Chloe, but apparently the purple haired brat did not show herself tonight. Things seemed to have settled down a bit and were replaced into the tension of aiding the wounded female vet.

Not too long after, the three finally managed to get to the apartment safely. While Mireille undressed Doctor Naomi, Kirika searched the cabinet for fresh bandages and medicines. A few minutes of hectic movements then passed, and the doctor's cloths were changed into clean ones, while her wound was neatly bandaged and treated. Despite the wound's effect of making Doctor Naomi unconscious – ever since their way back – fortunately it was not one which would give a threat for her life being. It did not take much time for Kirika and Mireille to realize later that the vet was no longer on her unconscious state, but fell asleep instead.

Aware of the safe progress they had just made, the tension in the room cooled down, and the pair succeeded to relax themselves. Kirika walked out of her bedroom silently, followed by Mireille not long afterwards.

"I will make tea." the brunette said as she headed to the kitchen.

Mireille sat herself on the pool table. She closed her eyes, calming her mind in order for her brain to think properly, and evaluated everything they had been through today. In the middle of her concentration, a vague voice whispered, "Tea's ready"'

Snapping her blue eyes back slowly, Mireille walked to the little table where Kirika had already sat in, and plopped herself right in front of the brunette. The tea was still hot, with fumes hovering above it. Putting the cup up to her lips, Mireille took a slurp carefully, not wanting to burn her taste buds.

"Hmm..delicious, what is this..?" the blonde asked, pointing at the tea cup.

Kirika smiled, "It's called milk tea."

"Oh.." Mireille sipped her tea one more time, then grinned, "You're getting really good at this, aren't you?"

Just after it, the blonde looked away to the window. She didn't notice that Kirika flushed a bit the moment the brunette heard the words. A compliment was not something easily muttered out from one whose personality was as complicated as Mireille; thus Kirika, hearing it directed to her, no matter how trivial it seemed to be, was happy enough to the point it shied her a bit.

Suddenly the door blurted out a rough sound, signing a person outside who apparently knocked the door with quite a force. It was obviously not the time to welcome some guests, especially not at this late of night, at the circumstances they were in. Mireille and Kirika glanced at each other; waiting for the other to make statement. Sighing, Mireille nodded at Kirika, who immediately ran to the left side of the door after the gesture. Mireille took her place on the right, preparing her gun to be easy to reach later. Mireille opened the door slowly, and..

"Meooww..!" a cat blurted in. A fluffy white cat was sitting there right in front of them, complete with a cage. It was like mail delivery, only that it was a cat, and that the cat itself was actually Kirika's. It was apparently the one they bought at the pet shop today, tough up until now, nobody realized that the cat was utterly forgotten. None of the two remembered to bring the cat to the house; not after what happened after they bought it, of course.

As if she just saw a horrible comedy show, Mireille's jaw dropped down, as confusion swirling in her mind. If somebody were playing a joke and tried to ditch Mireille's concentration, then that person had totally underestimated her. Both Kirika and Mireille stood still with both guns in their hands, ready to ambush.

Somebody must have delivered the cat, and the two knew that that somebody was hiding mutely, staying there in the shade of darkness formed from the night. Vaguely, the pair could see the person standing in front of them; a kid wearing a green cloak bigger than what her height actually supported. Slowly, as the moon illuminated its sparkle of light through the window, the shade vicinity lighten, thus revealing the figure of a girl – a young one, at that. As a kid she was not taller than Mireille, nor did she look more mature than her. Nevertheless, the girl's presence alone had brought an aura of great dignity radiating within her, and from her way of standing and studying others, one could sense right away to better not be involved with this person unless necessary. The girl stood still, eyes fixated at Mireille and Kirika.

In her life, Mireille just knew one person that resembled this kind of person in front of her. The kind that brought her hatred to no end, the type that she would prefer the least to beat her at anything, the one that had almost stolen everything in her life. Almost.

It was Chloe.

Realizing that she had been acknowledged by Mireille and Kirika, Chloe smiled mysteriously, "Long time no see." After that sentence, she no longer stared at the pair like a statue.

Despite the peaceful entrance, Mireille kept pointing her gun directly at Chloe, not intending to lower it like Kirika just did. "What do you want?!" she asked roughly, clearly expressing her dislike.

"I just want to return this cat to you." Chloe whispered softly. As if ignoring Mireille's presence completely, the girl looked at Kirika with an adoring look.

The Japanese girl, oblivious at the attention she received, replied nothing and was once again attached to the cat. Ignoring the icy, cold glares Mireille was snapping at their guest, Kirika brought the cat inside, and gently put it beside the pool table. Judging from the snoring sound the cat made, it obviously was asleep.

As soon as she finished with the cat, Kirika turned her back and said, "Maybe I need to make some more tea?" The girl flashed a glance at Mireille and smiled.

The blonde sighed in reply. "..Sure." She lowered her gun unwillingly, then trotted on to the table, slurping the tea in the cup. She was dying to shot Chloe a threatening look to not mess with her apartment, but decided to stay quiet in the end.

Chloe, delighted as to be invited inside, stepped animatedly into the apartment. As soon as Kirika went back, there were three cups of tea on the table. The tea was as great as always, tough it would be too much for Mireille to say that she enjoyed the tea with Chloe's presence. No matter how childish and vulnerable the kid looked like, Mireille felt restlessness at being near the girl's presence. If only Kirika had not given her that look, she would not even think of letting the girl step in her apartment. She was not fond at the purple haired girl, and neither was the other to her, she imagined. It was not like Chloe had really done anything bad to her, but Mireille just simply had her prejudice when it came to Chloe for some reason even unknown to the blonde.

"What were you doing back then?" Mireille asked sharply, while Chloe sipped her tea gracefully.

The short haired girl halted and looked up, "None of your business."

Silence. No one said a word. Chloe did not answer the question, and feeling ridiculously pissed, Mireille glared at the cocky girl. Chloe, noticing this, did nothing but enjoyed her tea and refilled it over and over again.

"Thanks for delivering the cat." Kirika broke the silence in the end.

At this word, Chloe smiled at Kirika. The brunette replied her smile slightly, then returned her focus to the tea. Mireille did nothing and continued to watch; she did not know why, but the purple hair kid appearance had bothering her since her arrival. The blonde could no longer hold on to keep quiet.

"Was it really you who killed those men?" she asked straight forwardly. It was possible that the men were Soldats, thus Chloe killing Soldats was a real question.

"Yes." Chloe answered.

Mireille knew she was supposed to be surprised at that confession, but she was not in the least of being astonished. She had expected the answer, tough she knew not of Chloe's true motive. "Who were they? Were they not your allies?"

"No."

_Does that mean that they were not Soldats?_

"..." Kirika stared silently at the two friends of her with no emotion at all.

Curious, Mireille went on. "Did you injure a woman..?"

"..." Chloe remained mute like a rock at this question, and fiddled the teaspoon in her fingers.

Sensing a secret being played on, Mireille gathered her courage to say the word, "Please answer my question."

"..." Chloe remained quiet, not saying a word. Neither did Mireille; not after breaking her inner pride to say please to Chloe, only to be ignored.

Minutes had passed by, but neither of the two spoke up. Mireille stared at Chloe, while the purple haired kid took no notice of it.

Kirika whispered softly, "I don't think Chloe did that." At Mireille's rising head, the brunette rested her gaze at the blonde.

Mireille was in fact, truly shocked to suddenly hear that confrontation from Kirika, but muttered casually in the end, " You think so?"

Kirika nodded her head, and Chloe smiled softly to the Japanese girl.

The blonde sipped her tea and said, "So.. If that person wasn't Chloe, it wouldn't be our business to know who injured-"

"I have a favor to ask." suddenly Chloe spoke up, cutting Mireille's line.

"A favor..?" Kirika responded quietly.

"Yes."

"How could you think that I will listen and help you? Plus, you have become somewhat rude to me." Mireille snapped.

"Maybe you won't listen, but Kirika will, right..?" Chloe smiled sweetly at Kirika, who was looking as impassive as ever.

_This weirdo, rude brat..!_ Mireille was irritated, but tried her best to ignore it.

"What is it..?" Kirika asked.

Chloe placed her cup on the table. "Please let me kill the woman who is resting in your bed." Her tone was astonishingly, and undoubtedly dead serious.

Mireille eyes grew wider as she heard Chloe's sentence. Kirika, however, as usual showed no particular change of facial expression.

"So.. it was really YOU who attacked Dr. Naomi?!" shouted Mireille, standing up and pulling out her gun.

"What are you angry for?" Chloe said in a shocked tone. "She is a stranger for the two of you, right?"

"She is a vet." Kirika said shortly.

"What is your relation to her..?" Chloe completely ignored Mireille, and faced Kirika.

"We once visited her to let her examine an animal," the brunette said.

Mireille stared at Chloe. "Listen. It grows my suspicion to you. You said you didn't injure Dr. Naomi, but you want to kill her..?!" The blonde fully hold herself not to shout.

"But.. Why do you need "our" permission..?" asked Kirika.

Suddenly, Chloe became silent, and her face had somehow turned to be clouded in worry and fear.

Confused by Chloe's strange attitude, Mireille decided to speak up. "Why do you want to kill her..?"

Kirika seemed that she wanted to know too, because she stared at Chloe, as if waiting for an answer.

Chloe seemed hesitated to answer. She closed her lips tight, not once intending to open it again here until she heard Kirika whispered her name, "Chloe?"

Kirika's words seemed to wake the purple haired girl up.

Chloe said with a serious tone, "I won't kill her if both of you do not wish me to do it." A second after she added, "It is due to the fact that you already know her, which make it inappropriate for me to kill her now."

Mireille caught the meaning of Chloe's words. It meant that she already knew that both Mireille and Kirika would not easily let Chloe kill Dr. Naomi. The vet had become their friends, somehow.

"But, I still wonder why did you want to kill her?" Mireille asked, still suspicious.

Chloe did not say anything for a while, as if looking for the best word to answer back. She looked at Mireille in the eyes, anger reflected in them. "It wasn't me who suppose to kill her. Rather, it's you."

Chloe had not stopped looking at Mireille after she declared that, and was staring at the blonde for a really long time that Mireille even felt strange for such attention. But fortunately the sitation returned to norml as the purple haired girl once again laid her gaze on Kirika's brown eyes. The Japanese girl said nothing at the remark whatsoever, and remained expressionless as usual.

Mireille was in fact perplexed as to what the green-cloaked brat was trying to say, but she decided to keep her moths shut for now. Even the girl's gaze made her uneasy to the point all she wanted was go out of that room.

Then suddenly Chloe said, "It's about time. I'll take my leave." Standing up, Chloe looked at Kirika and said, "Please be careful."

Without saying goodbye to either Mireille or Kirika, the purple-haired girl disappeared, leaving the blonde to be even more confused.


	4. Chapter 4

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself..!**

_"It wasn't me who suppose to kill her. Rather, it's you."_

Mireille was sure that those words were meant for her. Yesterday, Chloe made Mireille felt utterly and completely confused. The blonde was now sitting in front her laptop, checking on her mail as usual.

_Why do I have to kill Doctor Naomi..? It makes no sense._

The blonde was barely focused at what she was doing for she had not slept well last night. Sleeping on the sofa was definitely not her cup of tea. Moreover, Chloe's last words disturbed her goodnight sleep. Kirika, on the other hand, seemed to have a cheerful mood today was now busy in the kitchen. The sound of the boiling water filled the air all of the sudden, remarking the coming tea. The sound of a door slit opened startled Mireille, causing her to jump in reflex. Doctor Naomi was standing in front of her bedroom's door, looking confused as to where she was at. The female vet also looked tired, tough she smiled cheerfully at the sight of Mireille.

"Good morning," the blonde spontaneously said.

Dr. Naomi smiled, "Good morning."

"Good morning." A small voice greeted the vet. It was Kirika's.

"Ah.. Morning."

"Here's the tea," Kirika pointed the tea at the table. "Let's drink it together."

Mireille stood up and walked towards the table. Doctor Naomi followed the blonde. A minute later, all of them had sat down and peacefully sipped their tea.

Kirika asked softly, "How's your shoulder?"

"It's better now, thanks to you guys." answered the vet. She smiled to both of them.

"May I ask who injured you last night, doctor..? inquired Mireille.

The oldest woman seemed to hesitate to answer. "It..It was.. " She put off the cup and said, "I don't really know myself, actually."

" I see.." the blonde muttered, hoping indifferent would reflect in her tone.

"It was so dark. I barely saw something, and it turned out that I got hit by somebody." Doctor Naomi said sadly.

Kirika asked softly, "Why were you at that place last night?"

Dr. Naomi's eyes grew wider at that question. It was a very slight movement that one would never noticed unless trained like Mireille's or Kirika's. The vet's expression betrayed her shock, however, as it remained as calm as it could possibly look like. She looked at Kirika and said in a very small voice barely audible to be heard, "I met with someone."

Mireille and Kirika said nothing after that. Both of them were afraid that this topic was maybe getting too personal to be asked. They drank their tea in silence after that, silently shutting their mouth.

" Ah.. I forgot to thank you girls properly. Thank you for your help. " Dr. Naomi smiled, changing the topic right away.

"It's okay." Mireille said in a tired tone. She somehow felt even more sleepy after joining the conversation.

"Mireille.. " a soft voice called out the blonde name.

Mireille almost closed her eyes. "Hmm..?"

"You can use the bed." Kirika said.

"You're right." Mireille stood up while felt sleepy and walked to the bed in her room. She slept right away the moment she touched her pillow, not bothering to think about anything else but her slumber.

Kirika watched the Corsican girl made her move to the bedroom, before pouring some tea to Doctor Naomi's cup.

"So, both of you are assassins, right..?" the doctor asked tentatively.

Kirika glanced expressionlessly to the female doctor. "What made you think that way?"

"I just know about it when the two of you rescued me. People always compliment my sharp instinct." The woman smiled cheerfully. "Do you go to school, Kirika..?"

"No," The Japanese girl whispered. "Not anymore."

"Oh.. I see.. How about college..? Do you have any intention of attending college..?"

"Not really."

Actually, Kirika was offered by Mireille to attend high school. But the brunette had rejected it right after Mireille asked about it. She did not think high school life would suit her, after all. Time flew by as Doctor Naomi and Kirika kept company of each other and chatted for about an hour until noon.

" I am going to take a bath." Kirika said as she stood up.

"Mind if I join you..?" asked Dr. Naomi abruptly as she smiled to Kirika.

Kirika was actually surprised to hear this, tough her facial expression did not show so. She had only bathed with others with Chloe, and once with Mireille, while she was badly injured back then. Therefore the request was greatly surprising, coming from a lady she just met two days ago.

The Japanese girl thought for a while and said, "Not really."

Dr. Naomi and Kirika bathed together. They washed each other back, and had fun in the bathroom, all the time playing with water. Despite her age, Dr. Naomi looked like a child while she was playing with water. She was the first one to splash the water all over to Kirika, causing the vet to laugh ridiculously over the impassive expression on a wet Kirika. They chuckled and played in the water for about an hour nonstop, and somehow Kirika was actually enjoying it.

After a long time bathing, they dressed up. Kirika wore her usual cloth, while Dr. Naomi wore a new shirt she was given from the Japanese girl. Done with dressing up, Dr. Naomi kindly offered to comb Kirika's hair. Kirika refused shyly, reasoning that she felt no need for it because her hair was short.

"Just let me do it." Dr. Naome smiled excitedly, already having a comb in her hand.

Dr. Naomi combed Kirika's hair slowly and carefully. It was tiring how she took her time to comb Kirika's hair, tough the vet seemed to realize none of it. By the time they stepped out of the room, Mireille had not woken up yet.

"What about delivering some pizza..?" Dr. Naomi offered Kirika.

"Pizza..?" the Japanese girl whispered softly.

"I will treat both you and Mireille, to reply your kindness." the doctor said, offering her smile.

In the end, Doctor Naomi did order some pizza for all of them. While waiting for it, Kirika opened up the window and fondly stared at the sky. Suddenly, she heard the vet's soft voice saying, "I suppose to go home, don't you think so..?"

Kirika glanced at Doctor Naomi, "It doesn't matter to me."

The female doctor smiled slightly, "Thanks. I.."

Just then a knock was heard on the front door. Kirika opened the door and found a man with a box of pizza on his hand standing in the hallway. Out of reflex, the female vet searched for something in her skirt and after she found it, gave some money from her wallet to the man. Kirika received the pizza from the man, and placed it on the table.

Kirika was about to make some tea but heard a strange noise bothering her. She turned her back only to see that the Doctor Naomi was hold by the man who delivered the pizza. The noise was basically a failed scream from the female vet, struggling to scream for help. The man used his handkerchief and placed it on Doctor Naomi's nose, somehow making the doctor to become unconscious. By the time Kirika had pulled out her gun, the man had run away and was nowhere to be seen. From the sound of the running footsteps after, it was obvious that the man did not work alone.

Kirika hated to admit that she was careless; she was too carefree that she did not even expect any other bad things to happen. She lowered her gun, and her eyes caught the sight of a piece of paper left by the kidnapper. She picked it up, read it, and ran frantically to the bedroom right afterwards, trying to wake Mireille up.

"Mireille..!" Kirika exclaimed as loud as she can.

The blonde, who was still asleep, groaned and looked at the person who woke her up, "Kiri..ka?"

Once again, just in the same week, Mireille saw Kirika in the state of panic. It was the second time this week, and it was definitely not healthy for her heart. The blonde tried to clear up her sleepy mind, and sat herself. The brunette did not say anything to her though, so she asked, "What is it?"

Kirika seemed to have calm down a bit as she managed to control her voice's volume. "Doctor Naomi was kidnapped. And the kidnapper left this." She offered the paper to Mireille who received it half-consciously.

"Kidnapped??!"

On the center of the paper was written:

If you want this person back, bring fifty billion at 12 p.m tomorrow to the address below:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It wasn't Soldats. I'm sure about it." Mireille finally said, folding the letter in half. "They aren't coward."

Kirika remained expressionless, "Yes."

"Is it too late to catch them now?" asked the blonde.

"I think so." Kirika whispered softly. "Sorry." The brunette lowered her head.

Mireille smiled. "It's not your fault, Kirika." She placed her hand on Kirika's cheek.

Surprised to receive the contact, Kirika looked up. She found Mireile was warmly smiling to her, her eyes a little bit bothered by something. A while later, Mireille, realizing that it was pretty uncharacteristic of her to give such a gesture, felt embarrassment filled her mind and returned her hands where it was before. She quickly walked out of the bedroom while Kirika, whose cheeks turned pink, followed behind. The blonde walked to the pool table, and sat on it, thinking. Kirika closed the door, and once again proceeded to stare at the sky. Basically, the two acted as if nothing happened. It was not that they did not care about Doctor Naomi, but all they could do was to stay and wait until the time decided came. They did not have any other choice; collecting the amount of money needed was futile, for they all knew it would not simply gathered. Moreover, they were assassins, and it would be their job to take such a physical challenge when the opportunity to train came.

Mireille, whose mind had become rather clear, was now thinking about this incident. All that had happened so far had been unusually cheesy, as if something utterly dark was behind all these. What made things even weirder was the fact that Soldats seemed to be out of all these. As she was thinking about it further, the blonde saw something on the floor left not too far from the front door. It was a wallet, a leather one. She jumped from the pool table, and walked to pick it up. Kirika did not have a wallet, while Mireille's was in her jacket pocket. It was Doctor Naomi's, no doubt about it.

The wallet was made of leather, with the color of black. Out of curiosity, Mireille opened the wallet right away. Almost immediately she saw credit cards, bills, cash money, and photos. For some reason, the blonde found herself attracted to the pictures. She pulled out all the photos in the wallet, careful not to rip any of it. One of the pictures was a photo of three girls in their high school uniform smiling cheerfully at the camera. The other photos were all also about young Doctor Naomi and her friends. When Mireille tried to put it all back to the wallet, she found out one more picture was hidden within the papers of bills, in the deepest part of the wallet.

It was a photo of a little girl. The girl was on her 3, or maybe more. That girl was wearing a blue long dress, a very pretty one at that. The background of the photo was somewhere unknown to Mireille, but it caught her attention that the little girl had a wide smile on her face. Her big eyes seemed somehow nostalgic for Mireille, and she moved her gaze up to realize the girl's curly brown hair. This girl really seemed familiar to her, but she could not really recall who this was.

_I think I've seen this girl before.._

Her thought was interrupted by the tiny sound thundering ahead; sounds of footsteps. The footsteps were not the usual footsteps they usually heard when sneaking, but a completely different, calm one. Kirika ran towards the left side of the door holding her gun to her chest, while Mireille hold her gun on one hand as the other hand was keeping tight of Doctor Naomi's wallet. To their surprise, the door was opened without force –apparently Kirika did not lock it - and a person walked in slowly, gracefully. It was a woman with the pair of friendly brown eyes, whose face was already known for both Mireille and Kirika.

"Doctor Naomi?!" Mireille almost exclaimed when she said this.

Dr. Naomi smiled mysteriously, "Hey, Mireille, Kirika."

"Why don't you knock..?" Mireille lowered her gun and sighed. "I have almost shot the gun."

The oldest woman looked like she felt guilty. "I'm so sorry. It was quiet here. So I thought no one was here, and come in to check. Sorry." she apologized.

Kirika asked, "What about the kidnappers?"

Dr. Naomi smiled to this question. She raised her eyebrows and said with a childish tone, "You really want to know..?"

Briefly, Doctor Naomi told them that she had a little knowledge of martial arts, so when she had woken up, which fortunately was early, she somehow stroke down the kidnappers. "It was just two of them. So it wasn't difficult," the female doctor explained.

Dr. Naomi also explained how she beat them up. She said that in the car she was placed in, there were a lot of things which easily can be used. But amongst all those, she chose the rubbish bin.

Mireille laughed after she heard the story, "Lucky you."

"Then, what happened?" asked Kirika, who had finished chuckling.

Dr. Naomi grinned naughtily and continued her story, "Then.."

Time flew by while none of them realized about it. They did the funny chit-chat until dusk.

"Ah. It is already this late. I'd better go home." said Dr. Naomi, as she finished telling her superhero story.

Mireille suddenly remembered the wallet she found. "This is yours, Dr. Naomi," she said, giving it to the vet.

"Oh.. Thank you very much!" The female vet received it gratefully as she stood up and walked to the door. Dr. Naomi was not an expected guest, so no other belongings were brought; apparently all she needed was her wallet.

Mireille and Kirika stood up too as they would bid farewell to their friend. The female doctor refused the two's offer to accompany her home, however, so it turned out that Doctor Naomi would go home alone.

"Thanks for everything, Kirika, Mireille..!" Dr. Naomi said as she bowed to them, then left with a wide smile on her face.

Mireille closed the door after the farewell, and followed Kirika who walked to the tea table afterwards. As the blonde drank the tea, her mind was actually focused on something else.

_Something.. is bothering me. _

Noticing the silence coming from her partner, Kirika asked, "Is something wrong?"

Mireille sipped her tea. "Mm.. Nothing."

The brunette poured the tea from the pot to her empty cup. "I like her." Kirika smiled slightly and said, "Doctor Naomi."

The blonde placed her cup on the table. "Yes.. I wonder why Chloe wanted to kill her."

"Yes.." Kirika whispered thoughtfully.

"Because she slept here yesterday and I in the sofa.." Mireille smiled, " So you too will sleep in the sofa for a payback!" the blonde laughed cheerfully.

Kirika said nothing in return but laughed too. Mireille unconsciously gazed at Kirika's laughing face. She did not realize that Kirika had stopped laughing, and had begun to watch her own face. The Japanese girl smiled to the blonde. "Feeling sleepy again..?"

Mireille woke up from her thought. "Eh.. No."

"Can I use the bathroom first?" the brunette asked softly. "Thank you," she said upon seeing Mireille's nod, then excused herself to the bathroom.

Mireille watched as Kirika closed the bathroom's door, and was still in trance even when the sound of shower turned on was already heard. All the thought that filled her head at that moment was the last picture she found in Dr. Naomi's wallet. No wonder she felt familiar to the photo! The girl in the last photo did resemble someone she knew.

_Is it really you, Kirika?_

* * *

-- Thank you for reading this far. I hope that you enjoy this story. As you can guess, this story wouldn't end just here.. So please review..!! I will appreciate it so much.. --


	5. Chapter 5

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself..!**

Mireille was not sure whether her instinct was right or not. She did not know why but in her opinion, Kirika would just look like the girl in the photo if she was on her 3. And also, the fact that the girl had big brown eyes and curly brown hair increased the similarity point.

_But if that's true, why does Dr. Naomi have it..?_

Suddenly the blonde heard Chloe's words ringing on her head. _"It wasn't me who suppose to kill her. Rather, it's you."_ The blonde reminded herself that she must have a serious talk with Chloe the next time they would see each other. She needed to know what she exactly meant.

While Mireille was busy in her own thought, Kirika was trying to play with her fluffy white cat, Adeline. The one who gave the name was obviously Kirika, though it was still a mystery why did she come up with such name. The truth was, pets were forbidden in the apartment. But thanks to Adeline's ability –or rather, daily activities - to become quiet in time, they did not get in trouble so far. In fact the cat barely did other activities besides sleeping and eating. Even meowing was out of the list. It was no wonder as to why Adeline was fat and looked like a ball.

Kirika sighed, "She fell asleep again."

Mireille glanced at Kirika and smiled slightly. "That cat surely lives a lazy and easy life."

Kirika closed Adeline's cage door. It was useless to do it tough, because the cat barely went outside its cage. The brunette stood up and walked to the window, and did her business to the sky at usual; paying attention.

"Don't you make some tea today..?" Mireille asked, as she jumped on the pool table.

Kirika turned her back and said softly, "We don't have the stock."

"You mean the tea?"

"Yes."

The blonde smiled cheerfully, "Let's go buy it, then..!" She jumped off from the pool table. "I'll change first."

Kirika waited as she continued to stare at the sky. A while after, Mireille stepped out from her bedroom, wearing her red tank top and black mini skirt. "Let's go." she said.

It was still morning when they went to the nearest supermarket to buy the tea. After they bought it, Mireille's habit dangerously took over. They went in and out to some boutiques and shops, tried lots of clothes, and so on. Kirika was of course got carried and dragged on, and her patience could be really counted as that of a nun in church. Mireille, however, took no notice and was all crazy about buying and not buying stuff. A professional shopper as the blonde claimed to be, she just needed a short time to carefully examine some clothes and decided to take or not take it. Despite the amount of time she needed to choose, tough, the time she needed to fulfill her shopping desire was another question, which, undoubtedly was the main factor of they being late after a day shopping.

"Kirika..?" the blonde called, as she carried up some paper bags which full of her new clothes.

Heard that her name was called, Kirika walked towards Mireille and carried some of the paper bags.

As time passed by, more and more paper bags came that they had to carry. Almost all of them were Mireille's; the blonde had bought so much to the point it was really difficult to count. Kirika was actually forced to try on some clothes as well, but the Japanese girl never bought any of the ones she tried, despite the blonde's offer. Not wanting to push the Japanese girl, the Corsican girl just agreed to keep going without buying anything yet for the girl.

Finally, the two came to a halt and decided to end their journey with a dinner in a restaurant. Full of pride, Mireille carried the bags inside the restaurant. Kirika obediently carried the bag, remained expressionless all the times. Sometimes, Mireille habit could be out of place and became absurd; the both of them did not notice all the stares directed to them from the other customers as they walked in like a person who just migrated from a country halfway around the world. Almost immediately the two were given a "they-are-tourists" stare, despite the fact that the two were not really tourists. Oblivious to all the attention they got, the two finished the food happily and returned to the apartment in exhaustion, especially for Kirika who carried more bags than Mireille.

"I'll go take a bath." Mireille said, as she placed all the paper bags on her hands to the floor. The blonde walked cheerfully to the bathroom, humming a song all along her way. Apparently shopping made the blonde happy.

Silently, Kirika carried all the bags to the bedroom. Due to the number of the bags, she even needed to take the trip twice, despite how full her arms were of bags on each of the trip to the bedroom. When she was finished, as usual the Japanese girl went to the kitchen to make some tea. Placing the tea pot on the table, the brunette once again stared at the sky. As night came by, the sky was getting dark and roads were by now already lit up by the streetlamps.

Minutes passed and Mireille finally had done bathing. She wrapped the towel on her body, and walked out from the bathroom. When the blonde stepped outside, she saw that Kirika was as usual doing her activities to the sky. Smiling, Mireille did not intend to bother the brunette and was just about to walk pass by her without saying anything when she saw a strange thing. Whether it was just imagination or not, Mireille could swear that she saw Kirika's cheeks turned red for a brief second. But a second later, the brunette hurriedly walked over to the bathroom, passing the blonde as she said nothing with the ever expressionless state on her face. The bathroom door shut closed, leaving Mireille stood still in her place, confused with the unusual change of facial expression from Kirika, which seemed unbelievably rare but true.

_Did she... just blush..?_

Mireille raised her eyebrows questioningly. Impossible. It must be my imagination.

The blonde entered her bedroom and changed to her negligee. As she was done with dressing up, she sat herself in front of her laptop, and thought about the other thing she had not given a thought since she went out shopping. Mireille tried to remember all the significant things that had happened recently. An injured bird. Kirika bought a cat. A visit from Chloe, as she left confusing words about Doctor Naomi. Mireille found a photograph of a little girl that resembled Kirika so much. As the blonde remembered the details more, her suspicion towards Doctor Naomi became bigger. It was as if all of the events were plotted, especially the ones consisted of the female vet.

_Who is she actually?_

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, thus Mireille strode to open it up carefully, all the way preparing for an ambush. Instead of an attack, however, all she saw was the familiar female vet's face smiling brightly at her.

"Hey there..!" the doctor said loudly.

_Speaking of the devil.._

"Hi, Dr. Naomi. Nice to see you again." Mireille did not show her surprise at all and greeted Dr. Naomi as usual.

"Nice to see you too, Mireille," Dr. Naomi then picked up a white paper bag from the floor, and showed it to Mireille. "Here are the clothes I borrowed from you back then."

"Oh, thank you," Mireille said as she took the paper bag.

Just then, Kirika showed up from the bathroom's door. Kirika seemed to have finished bathing, tough she wore her clothes from before, as she must have heard someone's coming. "Good evening, Dr. Naomi." the brunette's greeted the doctor.

"Hi there, Kirika," the female vet greeted the Japanese girl, another smile crept its way to her lips.

Mireille looked at Dr. Naomi and offered, "Do you want to come inside..?"

"My pleasure."

Mireille and Dr. Naomi walked in to the apartment, while Kirika moved to change her clothes to a new ones. As the brunette was about to open the bedroom's door, she turned her back and said in a soft little voice, "You can drink the tea."

There was already a pot of tea and two cups on the table. Noticing this Mireille got to the kitchen quickly to take one more cup for Doctor Naomi. The cup was on the upper cabinet, thus Mireille raised her hand up, grabbed it, and turned around to go back. Her movement to get out of the kitchen was delayed, however, as another person blocked her way in a way not exactly pleasant for the blonde.

"I guess you grew suspicious of me already," Dr. Naomi concluded, her usual smile still hanging on her face.

_Since when has she been behind me..?!_

Mireille tried her best not to act startled, and kept hold of the cup on her hand tightly. "What do you mean..?"

"It's about time you realized," Dr. Naomi said calmly.

"Who are you..?" Mireille asked coldly, as she raised her gun to Dr. Naomi. It was fortunate that the blonde still kept the gun with her. After the kidnapping incident, it seemed unlikely for her to feel safe even in her own apartment. The blonde stared at the woman after her, as she became more cautious and slowly stepped backward. She could feel that the female vet could be dangerous if she chose to be.

Dr. Naomi's face soften a great deal of expression as she muttered, "I am not your enemy, Mireille. And I am not one you have to be cautious of."

Mireille did not give the slightest reaction to this sentence, and she knew that her eyes must have reflected some disbelief. Doctor Naomi kept her smiling face and did nothing, but Mireille felt insecurity building up even more, which was exactly the reason why she kept pointing her gun onto the female vet head.

Suddenly Kirika's voice was heard from the main room, calling out the blonde's name. "Mireille?"

A bad presumption washed Mireille, causing her to feel the need to hold back. She had a sudden feeling that it would be better to not involve Kirika for now. Believing so, Mireille lowered her gun. "I will let you be this time," she grumbled, making her way to the living room.

"Wait," Doctor Naomi interrupted in serious tone. "We can talk tomorrow at my clinic, after lunch."

Mireille gave a cold stare at Doctor Naomi. _Why did she think I want to talk to her?! _But a few seconds later she answered, all the way puzzled by her own curiosity. "Okay."

"Please don't bring Kirika with you," Doctor Naomi once again murmured in discreet.

Mireille glanced at Dr. Naomi and said, "I'll think about it."

The blonde was just bluffing. It was definitely her business and the female vet now, and Kirika was not yet to be the part. Despite the determination, however, it sure would be tough to think of a way to leave alone without the brunette. As both Mireille and Dr. Naomi approached the table, the Japanese-looking girl glanced at them innocently, then continued enjoying the tea.

Mireille and Dr. Naomi then sat down, and Kirika poured the tea for all of them. As the conversation started, Mireille tried her best to avoid contact with Doctor Naomi. Leaving the prejudice alone, it was quite a friendly chat the three of them had; almost as if nothing serious had happened. The female vet stayed for a little more chit-chat with them until about 9 p.m, and went home afterwards. Mireille expected the doctor to give her a quiet glare, but it turned out that the latter did not do so.

After Doctor Naomi left peacefully, Mireille once again sat in front of her laptop. Unusually this time, tough, the usual staring-to-the-sky pair of eyes was missing. Instead, that particular pair of eyes were, quietly and surreptitiously, directed at her. Sensing a bad premonition, Mireille tried her best to ignore the brunette's gaze and pretend to be oblivious.

Mireille hated to admit it, but when it came to sixth senses, the Japanese girl surely had the skill. The Japanese girl gazed endlessly at the blonde with emotion no one could predict; the only thing obvious was the intensity it possessed to make one nervous enough to even drop some sweats. Time passed by as two's positions remained still the same, but no words were exchanged. Unfortunately for Mireille, it was her loss when it came to situation like this. The sharp stares were too much for her.

Mireille tried to be as natural as possible when she looked at Kirika. "Do you need something..?"

Kirika, in return, shook her head expressionlessly.

The blonde replied sternly, "Oh." She then turned her gaze off Kirika and tried focusing on the laptop screen.

A couple minutes later Kirika, seemingly unperturbed with Mireille's realization of her gazes, fixed her gaze even more intensively upon the blonde. Deep inside her heart, Mireille suffered a great deal of mental stress; Kirika knew that she was hiding something, and therefore tried to blurt it out from Mireille's mouth. Feeling sweat in her palms, the Corsican girl felt as if a ton burden had just been dumped on her shoulders, caused by the piercing pair of brown eyes staring at her. Without any need for literal argument, Kirika had succeeded in forcing Mireille to the point where the blonde could not help but feel guilty at hiding some things.

In the end, unable to bear the pressure any longer, Mireille sighed and said, "I'll tell you." The blonde paused, not looking at Kirika as she spoke. "To short it up, I feel that Doctor Naomi had been lying to us," Mireille stated calmly. "When she came tonight, she said that it's time for me to realize something. I do have suspicion on her already, and strangely she seemed willing to talk about it and even asked me to come to her clinic tomorrow."

Kirika had by now standing beside the blonde with, ears listening carefully as her attitude remained as silent as a picture.

"She asked me to come.. without you." Mireile declared, fixing her blue eyes toward the brown pair one in front of her. She did so in order to make it clear for Kirika that it was her business they were talking about here.

Kirika whispered, "And?"

Mireille thought about what to do next. The last sentence was meant to inform the Japanese girl to not come with her.

"You can't come," Mireille said seriously.

"..." Kirika said nothing in return.

Feeling relieved to hear nothing such as objections from Kirika's lips, Mireille tentatively looked at the Japanese girl, and realized that it was a mistake to see the brunette's face. Her expression was almost like a puppy whose owner just left her by herself, without ever saying if he would come get her back again. It was supposed to be a saddening expression, but Mireille noticed – and blushed - that she actually found Kirika's expression at this moment to be remarkably adorable.

"Don't wear that expression, please.." said the blonde softly. "Or else I will be forced to take you with me, too.."

At this sentence, Kirika looked up and instantly cheered up. "I will go," she whispered in a sweet tone.

The melancholy expression just then had disappeared completely all of the sudden, replaced by a polite smile – leaving Mireille to even doubt that she actually saw that sad expression in the first place. Taking one more careful look at the Japanese girl, the blonde realized that Kirika might have just tricked her! Feeling somewhat deceived but amused at the same time, Mireille came to a conclusion: rather than being said as an expressionless person, Kirika might actually be a master at controlling her own expression.


	6. Chapter 6

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself..!**

The promised time was after lunch, while it was still ten o'clock in the morning now. Mireille and Kirika were now waiting in their living room, one browsing the internet, the other dozing off until the meeting time came.

"Mireille.." Kirika broke the silence in the room, gazing at the blonde.

Mireille, not stopping her activities mumbled, "Hmm..?"

The Japanese girl stood up, then walked to where her partner was sitting. "This is not too serious, is it..?"

"..." pausing her typing, Mireille looked carefully at Kirika to find a pair of curious brown eyes filled with worries. "I hope so," Mireille said, smiling. "I know you kinda like her."

Kirika smiled back and whispered something which Mireille couldn't hear clearly. "..."

"What did you say, Kirika..?" asked Mireille.

"Nothing." was the brunette's reply.

The rest of their waiting period was occupied with their tea time, chats and fun time playing with the sleeping Adeline. When lunch time came, Kirika and Mireille had lunch in a small restaurant near the apartment and went to the clinic afterward. Once again they saw the oriental building painted in yellow and red, and once again they walked over to the front door. There, Mireille knocked a few times and was greeted immediately by some hurling footsteps which rushed to open it up. As the door swung open, they saw a familiar face welcomed them.

"Hello," Doctor Naomi said as she smiled. The oldest woman looked at Mireille briefly, before switching the glance to Kirika. Her facial expression changed a little when she saw the Japanese girl's face, obviously uncomfortable with the brunette's presence. She tried to hide her disappointment, however, and acted naturally as she said, "Come in, girls."

It was the second time for both Kirika and Mireille to step into the clinic, and it was no different than the previous experience, except for the fact that they were brought to a deeper part of the house. It seemed that the house served as both clinic and house. It was also surprisingly big for such a small view from the outside, and the three trotted down their way for about five minutes before finally came to a halt.

"We can talk here," the female vet finally announced.

They were now standing in an empty and tidy room which has only a big blue sofa, a regular TV, and a table. The room was painted white rather than yellow or red, which made it different from the rest of the rooms. Judging from the furniture, it was as if the room was designed to receive guests. Mireille and Kirika sat on the big sofa, while Doctor Naomi walked to another room nearby. When the female doctor showed up, she brought a chair with her.

"I can-"

"I will sit here, it's okay." Doctor Naomi cut off Mireille's line, as she placed the chair in front of the two, despite the empty space in the sofa. The female vet first made herself comfortable to sit on the chair before starting the conversation, "About your parents, Mireille.."

"Huh..?" muttered Mireille, confused.

"I'm really sorry that they were already dead," Dr. Naomi said calmly.

"…"

How in the world can she find that out??

Mireille did feel uncomfortable with this topic, but she was fully aware that Kirika as even more at unease. The Japanese girl had come to acknowledge the fact that she was the one who killed her parents, and still did dwell with the guilt of it. The blonde had already forgiven Kirika for sure, but this topic was going to be very sensitive for the brunette if continued. The blonde remembered the last time the Japanese girl apologized to her, both of them almost cried nonstop. Mireille had glanced at Kirika, and saw that the brunette made a slight reaction. A very little one, which could be realize by Mireille only.

"Kirika..?" Mireille asked in a worried tone. "Are you okay?"

Kirika smiled at Mireille, "I'm okay."

"Actually I will talk a lot about Mireille's parents, Kirika." Doctor Naomi said, a smile on her face.

Kirika said nothing and remained quite.

Mireille stared angrily at Doctor Naomi, tough the vet herself seemed to ignore it. "This is just a suggestion," the vet started. "But maybe..you would like to wait outside for a while?"

The blonde shot another discontented look at the female doctor, but said nothing for a reply. The Japanese girl looked up to see Doctor Naomi's face, hesitated, but agreed in the end and walked out of the room.

Mireille felt guilty to have brought Kirika here, but Doctor Naomi obviously did not want Kirika to hear the conversation no matter what. After a while, convinced that Kirika had left, Mireille said in an angry tone, "You bastard. Don't you have any other ways to make her leave this room?!"

"I'm sorry for that," the female vet apologized. "But I can't help it. You brought her here."

"Leave that for later," Mireille said impatiently. "Who in the world are you..?" the blonde asked sharply, genuine suspicion in her tone.

"I'm currently a vet," the older girl answered shortly.

Despite how unsatisfied she was with the answer, Mireille knew that she had to play smart with the woman in front of her. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is it Kirika in the picture you have?"

Doctor Naomi wore a surprised expression and said, "Picture.??"

The blonde said lazily, "Don't play dumb with me." She added coldly, "You were the one who dropped your wallet on purpose. Admit it yourself."

The female vet laughed, her voice roaring throughout the entire room. "It was due for you to recognize me."

"So it really is Kirika..? Mireille's voice was cracked as she inquired this.

"Yes."

Mireille had prepared herself to accept any answer and thus muttered, "I don't trust you though. Why do you have it..?"

"Someone gave it to me."

"What for..?"

Doctor Naomi lowered her head, hesitating for awhile, before peeking her brown eyes to Mireille's direction. "You wouldn't believe me," she finally said.

"What do you mean..?"

The doctor bitterly pursed her lips but answered, "I am Kirika's mother."

Though Mireille had mentally prepared herself, she gasped the moment she heard that sentence. _Kirika's mother..?_

Now that she thought about it, the similarity between Kirika and Doctor Naomi was not that obvious, but still can be deciphered. In fact, Mireille did recognize it as time passed by. For example, both Kirika and Doctor Naomi's eyes had that sort of similar colors which was strangely shaped in quite the same manner. Despite her bewilderment, Mireille observed Doctor Naomi and imagined what Kirika would look like if she had the long black hair that the female vet possessed.

After a long silence between them, Mireille said, "I don't believe you completely, though physically you two apparently do resemble each other."

"I have proof with me."

"Show me," Mireille insisted.

Dr. Naomi went to another room of the house, and brought a thick book with her when she came back. Inside the book there were a photo album and a birth certificate. The birth certificate somehow seemed convincing from the old looks, and Kirika's name was written there. _Her name really is Kirika, eh..?_

The blonde didn't want to check longer on the birth certificate, so she took the photo album out. Mireille saw the picture of the woman who seemed to be a younger version of Doctor Naomi with a man who was likely to be Kirika's father from the look, and maybe, Kirika at the age of 2 or 3; they were posing in front a small house. The next one was the picture of the three of them laughing cheerfully in a room. The sound of flickered pages of the album was the only one heard in the room as no one talked. The more pages opened, the wider Mireille's eyes became. The blonde found it hard to not realize the similarity of the girl in the photo with Kirika. Finally the last pages were flipped, and Mireille sighed in contempt.

"How do you know that this girl," Mireille pointed at the little girl who resembled Kirika in one of the photos, "is Kirika..?"

"I have checked it when I took a bath with her."

Mireille exclaimed, "TOOK A BATH?!"

"Yes." Dr. Naomi said calmly though the doctor wore a shocked expression as to hear the blonde exclaimed loudly. "Why did you exclaim..?"

Mireille felt embarrassed on herself, "Ah.. Sorry. I just didn't hear about it from Kirika." Mireille gathered up her mind and said, "Anyhow, you are still not convincing enough. You just took a bath... with her."

"I saw the birthmark."

Mireille raised her eyebrows, "Birthmark..? Where?"

"Behind her left ear. A very small one."

Such a small birthmark, Mireille herself knew nothing about it. "I see."

Dr. Naomi smiled, "So, you believe me..?"

"Not really.. "

"Your doubt was already enough for me to prove that you actually do," the female doctor said confidently.

Mireille, decided to ignore the female vet for a while, drifted her mind to wonder about Kirika. Her first meeting with Kirika. She remembered all the story the brunette had told her. The Japanese girl's ambition. Kirika's smiling and sad face. Her solitude personality, her tough heart. Suddenly Mireille felt hatred occupying her whole heart, and knew that this was directed towards Doctor Naomi who claimed to be Kirika's mother.

Despite the anger in her heart, Mireille tried to hold her emotion and asked, "Say, you threw her to Soldats, didn't you..?"

Dr. Naomi nodded weakly.

She said furiously, "Say if I do believe you. Tell me, why did you leave Kirika alone..? Thanks to you for throwing her away to Soldats, she became a prodigy of an assassin who only knew how to kill..! What have you been doing until now..?!!! Are you really a mother..??"

"I..." Dr. Naomi smile faded upon heard this. The female vet then shut her mouth and became silent.

As Mireille was about to shouted more, she saw Dr. Naomi was slowly shaking. Strangely, the doctor was about to cry. Mireille felt a bit guilty to say all the things back then, tough the blonde didn't even consider to apologize. Reasonably, she loved Kirika more than this random female vet.

"It's true. I... I am not qualified... to be a mother. Threw... threw her away like that.." the vet sobbed wetly, as she was also shaking greatly.

Mireille remained silent and waited for the doctor to stop crying. After about ten minutes, Dr. Naomi had regained her calmness.

Decided not to argue about Dr. Naomi "un-motherly-like" further more, the blonde asked calmly, "Doctor Naomi.. What is your purpose, telling me all this..?"

Doctor Naomi took a deep breath and said, "I gave up for Kirika just about two weeks ago. But all of the sudden, you and Kirika went to my clinic." The female vet looked up at the ceiling as if she was remembering the moment. " Just then I realized that she is my daughter I have been searching for. It is all based on my feeling. So I arranged all of this to know you and her more."

Mireille listened to the older woman patiently.

The vet looked at Mireille seriously. "Could you please... make her acknowledge me..?"

"What..?!" Mireille asked out of confusion. "I can't just jump in and said to Kirika: Hey, you have a mother living near here!"

_Can't she realize that she have made her waited too long..? I thought her parents already died..!_

Doctor Naomi smiled, "I just had a feeling that you can help me somehow."

"You yourself must tell her," Mireille said sharply. "Though I doubt that she will believe you."

"But still I need your help."

Mireille kept silent. _Help.._

As if she could read Mireille's mind, the female doctor smiled and said, "Yes. Maybe you can let me visit or invite her more."

There was actually another question in Mireille's mind. "What would you do when she acknowledges you..?"

The female vet smiled and said matter-of-factly, "Of course I will bring her back home."

With that last sentence, their conversation end. Mireille felt that it would be too long for Kirika to wait for her. The blonde knew the best that Kirika wasn't a fool. The brunette surely enough would know that something she couldn't know was happened between Mireille and Doctor Naomi. Mireille said goodbye to the female vet and walked out from the clinic. She found Kirika outside the clinic, embracing a wild cat. The cat ran away the moment Mireille showed up.

"Sorry to make you wait this long," muttered Mireille.

Kirika smiled, "That cat accompanied me, so it's fine." The Japanese looking girl stood up and said softly, "But I think I will accept an apologize gift."

Mireille laughed, "I'll treat you an ice cream, then."

They went to the park, not far away from Doctor Naomi's clinic. There they bought two ice creams from the ice cream man. Mireille and Kirika then walked to sit at the bench. It was evening now, and most people were outside at this time. They could see people walking all over, while most children happily played in the park. The scenery was comforting and peaceful, and the two quietly enjoyed their ice cream.

"Kirika.." Mireille glanced at the younger girl beside her. "I'm sorry that she had made you waited outside."

The Japanese girl smiled slightly and whispered, "It's okay." Kirika licked her ice cream and asked in a soft voice, "Was it about your parents?"

"U.. Uh..." stuttered the blonde as she licked her vanilla ice cream.

The Japanese girl had now stopped licking her ice cream and started to stare at Mireille, as the brunette's brown eyes glowing brightly and a bit, naughty.

_Not again..._


	7. Chapter 7

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself**

Kirika stared coldly at Mireille. The Japanese girl knew that the blonde was hiding something from her.

"I can't tell you, Kirika." Mireille said in a serious tone.

The Japanese-looking girl asked calmly, "Why..?"

"I just can't."

Kirika said nothing and continued staring at Mireille. The younger one of the two surely was stubborn.

The blonde tried her best to change the subjects. "Have you fed Adeline today..?"

No reply. All Mireille got was the stare.

"Your last tea was delicious, Kirika."

Silence. Just a stare, once again.

Mireille felt some sweat suddenly dropped. "Uh, you know.. It is my business.. So you can't know."

"I don't think so," Kirika calmly stated. She continued stare at Mireille, silently.

Her sixth sense sure is something..

Mireille sighed. "I just.."

Kirika said nothing and waited something to be said by Mireille.

"I met one of them."

"..."

"Your parents."

"..What.. do you mean..?" the Japanese girl slowly asked.

"One of them is alive." Mireille said calmly. "I met with your mother."

"...my.. mo..ther..?" Kirika whispered slowly. "How did you meet her?" she inquired softly, and when the blonde did not respond, added, "Did I know her?"

Mireille nodded and said, "Your mother... she seems to be..," Some sweat dropped from the blonde's forehead. "Doctor Naomi."

Mireille looked at Kirika, ready to comfort the brunette if she in case wasn't ready yet to accept her mother existence. It was after all too sudden in Mireille's opinion, so the blonde somehow ready to face the consequences for what she had said.

But in return, Mireille saw the brunette smiled, "Oh."

The blonde was shocked to see Kirika accept the fact easily. "Ye.. Yes."

"Can I go and see her..?" asked Kirika.

"Of.. Of course." Mireille said, still surprised to see Kirika acted just as usual.

The brunette stood up. "I'll go then. By myself."

After that, Mireille walked herself back to the apartment. Even though Kirika was mostly silent herself, the apartment felt very empty without the existence of her partner, Mireille realized. It was just Mireille and the cat, Adeline. The following day was also the same, as Kirika had not yet gone back to the apartment. Mireille started to get worry, but her worries were eventually discarded as the brunette went back home one day, with a smile on her face. The Japanese girl told Mireille that starting from today, she might start to meet with her mother occasionally. Mireille agreed right away, feling relieved from having Kirika back, but it turned out that Kirika did not meet her mother occasionally, but rather, everyday. It even seemed that Doctor Naomi and Kirika had both became really closed to each other, as they met everyday. When Kirika came to the apartment, Mireille was usually still awake. But the brunette always felt sleepy at that time. So, the blonde would just let the Japanese-looking girl went to sleep.

One evening, Kirika suddenly came early into the apartment. As Mireille was about to greet Kirika for the unusual arrival,

"Mireille.. Mom asked me to ask you about something.." the brunette said just after she walked into the apartment and saw the blonde.

"Eh.. What is it..?"

The Japanese girl flushed slightly and asked, "Will you be lonely.. if I leave..?"

Surprised, Mireille asked, "What.. do you mean..?" The blonde tried to keep her cool, though her body heat seemed to increase a lot.

"She will leave Paris and go back to Japan," Kirika said softly. The Japanese girl was obviously happy about this, as she smiled cheerfully to Mireille. "She asked me if I can leave with her."

"Uh.. I see.. " Mireille stuttered.

It can't be happening.. Somebody please tell me it's a lie..?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mireille felt all her body heat was increased. She was sweaty and her clothes were all wet. Her heart had been pounded even wildly. When she looked around, she saw that she was in her own bed. In the apartment. She just had a nightmare, and fortunately had woken up from it. It was just a dream.. not reality.. When she saw the clock, the blonde realized that she had been asleep too long. It was already twelve o'clock.

It was only been two days since Mireille knew that Doctor Naomi maybe is Kirika's mother. The thought of Kirika leaving really bothered her, though the blonde hadn't come to realize that it was the problem which bothering her so far. Mireille couldn't help but felt worried every time she remembered that Doctor Naomi was Kirika's mother. _Why do I feel so worried..?_

Mireille stood up from the bed and walked outside the bedroom. She saw Adeline was sleeping in the cage peacefully, as usual. Mireille observed the room. She looked at the window, the table, and the pool table. There was no one beside her in this room. Kirika wasn't here. Her heart beat began racing again. _Did she leave..?!_

Mireille ran at the bathroom, then the kitchen. Not there. She ran back to the bedroom in hurry. She felt relieved to see Kirika's clothes and belongings. Those things were still in her apartment. How foolish. I haven't told her about anything..!

The Corsican girl smiled to herself and walked to the bathroom. She took a bath for about ten minutes. When Mireille had dressed up, the brunette still hadn't come back to the apartment. Tough Mireille felt some kind of worried, she reminded herself to be calm. _She just went somewhere, maybe shopping. Calm yourself._

Mireille looked out from the window, searching for Kirika. But still, there was not a single sign from the brunette. It was getting darker and darker as Mireille waited for Kirika to come back. The blonde made some tea for herself, checked her laptop, and fed Adeline. Time flew by and Mireille finally felt that she couldn't wait any longer. It was already five o'clock now. She changed her clothes and wore her jacket. The blonde hastily walked out from the apartment to the street.

Mireille walked in hurry and glanced at everyone she saw. Not a single person resembled the familiar oriental face she was searching for. The blonde went to the supermarket first, which was the most likely place for Kirika to stop by. Unfortunately the Japanese girl wasn't there. Then Mireille went to the pet shop. Not there, too. Mireille stopped by at every next shop she saw. Kirika was still nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Mireille remembered one place she hadn't gone to. She moved her feet slightly and walked to the park.

It was already night when Mireille arrived at the park. Just after she stepped in, she saw Kirika was sitting on the bench in the middle of the park. Their usual spot. Mireille took a deep breath and loose out a sigh of relief. Then, she ran to the bench. As she got closer, she saw that Kirika was not alone. There was somebody beside the brunette. Mireille had now been in front of Kirika, so she could see who the other person was. It was Doctor Naomi. Mireille completely ignored the female vet and looked at Kirika.

"Mireille.." whispered Kirika.

"... Did you leave a message for me..?" Mireille asked, tried to be calm. The blonde was relieved to see Kirika, but also at the same time kind of angry, a little.

Kirika answered calmly, "I did."

Mireille was confused, "Where..?"

"At our usual place."

After thinking for a while, Mireille was ashamed of herself. She forgot to check that place. The vase.

Mireille felt embarrassed to be worry like she was now. "Uh.. I forgot to check it."

The Japanese girl laughed. Doctor Naomi, who was beside the brunette also laughed slightly. Suddenly the doctor stood up and announced, "It's unfortunate that I have to leave." She smiled at the two of them, and retrieved her purse from the bench.

"We can talk again tomorrow," Kirika said as she looked up at the female doctor who was standing in front of her.

Doctor Naomi's smile grew wider, "Of course." The female vet then looked at Mireille and said, "I'll be going then."

"Bye," replied Mireille.

"Goodbye, girls," the female vet said as she walked forward, leaving the park.

Mireille watched as Doctor Naomi left the park. After that, the blonde sat herself beside Kirika.

"I went shopping for the kitchen needs," Kirika whispered.

Mireille muttered, "Oh."

"Were you worried..?" the Japanese looking girl asked innocently.

Mireille felt her heart stopped beating for once at the moment she heard the question. She felt her face became hotter. She said slowly, "... Not really.."

"Oh." Kirika shortly said, and smiled slightly.

"Did you meet Dr. Naomi coincidentally..?" asked Mireille.

"Yes."

"May I know what the two of you were talking about..?"

Kirika turned her glance to the blonde. "First she said sorry to me. About yesterday."

"I see.."

"Then, she started talking about family," said the Japanese girl.

"Seems like she is very fond of that topic."

Kirika laughed, "Seems so."

"Anything interesting beside it..?" Mireille asked, curious.

"Um.. No," Kirika simply answered.

"Well then.." Mireille looked at the sky. "It's getting dark and cold. Let's go home."

It had started to rain when both Mireille and Kirika arrived at the apartment.

"I'll make tea." Kirika said as she headed to the kitchen.

Mireille threw herself on the chair, waiting for the tea Kirika was making. Not too long after that, the brunette came out from the kitchen while carrying a tea pot.

The older of the two stood up and said, "I'll get the cups." The blonde headed to the kitchen and took two cups and brought it to the table. Then, she threw herself on the chair beside Kirika.

Mireille glanced at Kirika. "Um.. Kirika.."

"Hmm?" said the Japanese girl as she poured the tea.

"I never asked this before... Uh.." Mireille tried to arrange the word she was going to use. "Do you remember the face of your family..?"

"No." Kirika stated calmly. The brunette still wore her expressionless face as she asked, "Why..?"

"Just curious," The blonde took her tea. "So, you really don't remember anything from the past, even your family..?"

Kirika gazed at her cup, and whispered, "I.. I don't really know.. whether I still have a family or not."

"Eh..?" Mireille asked, perplexed.

"I have a feeling that they have died," Kirika whispered slowly. "My family."

Mireille looked at Kirika, not knowing what to say.

"Maybe we're the same.." Kirika said softly. The Japanese girl then lowered her head. "If just I.. " her voice was even sadder than before. "I'm really sorry.. that I killed your family, Mireille."

Mireille eyes grew wider. Again, Kirika apologized to her about this matter, tough the blonde had forgiven her. "Kirika.." Mireille took the brunette's hand and hold it.

This sudden contact made Kirika looked up and saw the blonde's face. Mireille placed her other hand on the brunette's cheek and smiled. "I have forgiven you, remember."

"Yes.."

"It wasn't your fault either." said Mireille, as her blue orbs gazed at Kirika's beautiful orbs.

Both Kirika and Mireille were now sitting very close to one another. Tough neither of the two realized that they leaned closer to each other.

The Japanese girl startled Mireille by placing one of her little hand on the blonde's too. "It is warm.. Your hand.." she said softly.

At that moment, Mireille got the sudden urge to kiss Kirika. As she leaned forward to Kirika...She suddenly stopped herself. _No. You can't._

Mireille took off all her hands on the brunette and looked away, hiding her face whose cheeks turned red. Kirika looked at the blonde, confused.

"Sorry.. Uh..." The blonde hesitated to speak up.

"It's okay." Kirika smiled.

Mireille flushed a bit. _How come did I feel like kissing her..??_

"Are you going to tell me something..?" Kirika asked innocently. This time it was Kirika who reached the blonde's hand. The Japanese-looking girl held Mireille's hand within both her hands.

The blonde reacted to this warm contact and looked up to see Kirika smiled at her. But still, Mireille hesitated to tell the brunette. She shut her mouth.

During her mute, a thought suddenly appeared in Mireille's mind. _What will Kirika do when she knows about Doctor Naomi? Will she... leave me..?_

"Mireille..?"

"Kirika.. What if your family were still alive..?" Mireille asked quickly.

"Huh..?" A look of confusion flashed on Kirika's face. The brunette then became quiet, as if she was thinking about something.

Mireille waited patiently for Kirika to reply.

"I don't know," the brunette replied shortly and looked at Mireille. "Why..?"

Mireille felt relieved to hear the answer. "I just.. There is a possibility, right.." said the blonde.

Kirika gave a look of disbelief on Mireille.

"I just happened to feel that way."

The brunette asked in a soft voice, "Did you meet with someone..?"

"..." Mireille felt that she had said too much for now, as the topic was getting more specific. The blonde decided to not speak further. She knew Kirika had a sharp instinct.

"No. I just saw a person looked like you passed by." Mireille lied, and tried to say it lightly. "But now that I think of it.. She doesn't really look like you.."

Kirika looked at Mireille silently, as she said nothing. Fortunately Mireille stopped herself for telling the Japanese girl about Doctor Naomi. Somehow Kirika seemed attracted to the last topic. _Doctor Naomi must tell Kirika by herself, remember._

"Maybe you will meet that person, one day," Mireille smiled as she said that.

Mireille felt relieved that Kirika didn't ask something else. Rather, the brunette was quietly sipping her tea. Mireille's mind went to Dr. Naomi. _What is she going to do..?_

"Mireille.." Kirika called the blonde's name.

Mireille glanced at Kirika, a bit worried about what was Kirika going to talk about.

"Tomorrow I will go to Doctor Naomi's clinic." the brunette said.

"Oh..? What for..?"

"She said she has something she would like me to help."

"Okay.."

A week was over since Kirika was told to come to help Dr. Naomi's at the clinic. The Japanese girl was offered a job to become an assistant of a vet. It was a reasonable job for Kirika who love animals. Kirika asked Mireille about this first, before making her decision whether to accept it or not. Mireille gladly allowed the brunette to do what she would like to do. Now it had been also a week since Kirika started working at Dr. Naomi's clinic.

The thing was, the Japanese girl worked from 9a.m in the morning until 5 p.m. Kirika would come home and chat for a while with Mireille, then went to sleep. The brunette obviously must be tired, helping all day. At first, not much different was made. But as time passed by, Mireille couldn't help but felt lonely. The blonde was alone in the apartment everyday, waiting for Kirika to come back. It was as if the horrible dream Mireille had before came true.

Actually Mireille could just make up some reason and stay in the clinic until Kirika had done with her work. But, the blonde had some kind of feeling that Doctor Naomi made this opportunity to get close to Kirika. And it was also rude. As somebody who knew the true identity of that female vet, she couldn't just disturb them. The blonde let out a sigh.

Mireille herself still didn't understand why Kirika's existence bothered her so much. It was as if having the Japanese girl less than a half daytime in a day had drive her to be a loner.

Mireille knew that she had paid some attention for the Japanese girl since a long time ago. She adored the cute and innocent look on the brunette's face, which sometimes would make her blush. She loved to hear the words spoken by Kirika, more than a singing angel. She missed Kirika's laughter. Mireille actually loved to see the enigmatic aura the Japanese-girl had, and drank the tea the brunette made. She would also love to gaze longer at the Japanese girl's beautiful brown pair of eyes. To tell the truth, she didn't expect that she would miss Kirika very much like she was now. Especially now that Kirika had no longer spent too much time with her, Mireille had come to realize_. I miss her.. Does this mean that.. I... love her?_

A sound of a door opened startled Mireille. She glanced at the door and saw the face of the one she had been longing to embrace.

"Kirika..?" asked Mireille, confused. "You've done working today..?"

"Yes." was all the brunette replied. Kirika then walked to the bedroom quietly.

Something's wrong with her. Mireille decided to head to the bedroom. When she stepped in, she saw Kirika was lying on the bed, with her own face buried to the pillow.

Mireille said nothing and sat herself beside Kirika. The soft movement on the bed must be enough for the brunette to realize Mireille's presence. From the look above, Mireille could tell that the Japanese girl was neither sick nor asleep. _What happened..? Did Dr. Naomi say something to her..?_

The blonde decided to lie on the bed too. She faced Kirika, whose face wasn't able to be seen while was buried in the pillows. Mireille reluctantly stopped herself to hug Kirika, afraid whether the gesture would be refused by the brunette. So Mireille just remained silent there, accompanying Kirika. A few minutes passed, and finally the younger of the two opened up her mouth.

"I am... confused," a soft unclear voice came from Kirika. The Japanese girl still buried her face into the pillows.

"Why..?" asked Mireille.

"She.. suddenly hugged me so tight." Kirika's voice was barely clear, but Mireille somehow could understand.

"I see.." _She can't be a little more patient eh, that damn doctor.._

"But that's not the problem. Doctor Naomi.." Kirika turned around and now her face was facing Mireille. "She said sorry to me and continued telling me her story." her voice could clearly be heard now.

Both of them were now facing each other, while laying on the bed they usually shared.

"Story..?" Mireille asked softly. The blonde quietly enjoyed gazing continuously at the brown orbs in front of her. It had been a long time since she did so.

"She told me.." Kirika closed her eyes. "She told me about her life.. Her family, her dream.. "

Mireille quietly listened to the brunette.

"Doctor Naomi told me an event which happened a long time ago. She told me the details, why did she do that, when did she do it.. everything." Kirika opened her eyes. "I don't know why.., but I felt my heart was ripped apart as I heard that story even further." She said in a sad tone. "It was as if... I could feel all the pain."

"What is the story about..?" Mireille asked, curious.

"It was a story when she threw her daughter away," Kirika simply said.

Mireille was shocked. Doctor Naomi was surprisingly brave and at the same time; an idiot to suddenly told Kirika the story. Though Mireille didn't know how Kirika was thrown away, it definitely must be sad story, for Kirika to wear the expression she was now having.

"I feel somewhat... familiar with it," said Kirika softly.

Mireille gave a look of comforting to Kirika, and took one of Kirika's hand and hold it tight. "Is that what makes you feel like now..?"

"That story was somehow give me a bad feeling.." Kirika whispered. "So I decided to come back early today." Kirika grasped Mireille's hand. "And I have a feeling.. that you know something important related to me."

Mireille tried to keep calm. She looked at Kirika and said, "Yes. But I can't tell you."

"Why..?" Kirika's eyes reflected some sadness.

"It isn't me who suppose to tell you, Kirika." Mireille said seriously.

"Then who..?" Kirika insisted to know.

"…"

"I.. I don't have anybody else besides you, Mireille." Kirika whispered, her brown eyes looking sadly at Mireille.

Mireille, even though touched by the honest thought of Kirika, winced in grimace and said,"... I can't tell you."

The two both gazed to each other, while their hands were clutched to one another. Mireille felt guilty, as she hided something from the brunette.

"I don't mind... knowing from you," Kirika whispered slowly.

"It is not.. appropriate," replied Mireille calmly, resisting the urge to just tell the Japanese girl.

"Can you please.. tell me..?" begged Kirika.

Mireille became speechless at the moment. She was fighting with herself, deep inside her mind and heart. _If I tell her, I'm afraid that I will lose her. But.. she will know, sooner or later.._

The blonde made up her mind. "You know.." muttered Mireille. "The conversation I had with Dr. Naomi wasn't about my family, but yours."

"What do you mean..?" Kirika asked softly.

"She said to me that..." Mireille looked at Kirika and saw the pair of brown eyes was focusing on her blue orbs. "She is... your mother." Mireille clutched Kirika's hand tightly while saying this.

Kirika remained silent for the next minutes. Mireille on the other hand, gently looked at the brunette.

"Are you okay, Kirika..?" Mireille broke the silence between them.

"…"

Mireille decided to wait for a little while, as she was sure that Kirika must have needed quite some time to think.

"Yeah.." later on, a small voice replied her question. "No wonder... She is very kind to me.."

Gazing at the Japanese girl's eyes, Mireille inquired, "Do you believe that she is your mother..?

Kirika sighed. "I.. don't know.." The brunette looked at Mireille. "What do you think..?"

"For me, she somehow seems convincing," whispered Mireille.

Kirika said nothing in return. She closed her eyes.

Mireille asked softly, "What will you do.. now?"

The Japanese girl opened her brilliant brown eyes and said calmly, "I want to ask her a lot of things."

With that answer, Mireille changed her clothes as Kirika waited for her. The two of them went to the clinic and arrived at about six in the clinic. They knocked, and the door was opened by no one else but Doctor Naomi.

Doctor Naomi smiled as usual with no sign of surprise and greeted them, "Welcome."

Neither Kirika nor Mireille replied her smile. They just stood still and said nothing.

Dr. Naomi saw this and asked in a low voice, "A serious talk, I assume..?" Her smile faded away. She then made a gesture for the two to follow her.

Both Kirika and Mireille silently stepped into the clinic. Once again they were led to the room they had been before, the white living room. They sat at their exact position as before. Mireille and Kirika on the sofa, while the female vet sat on the chair. No one said a word after that. Dr. Naomi simply shut her mouth and looked down nervously. The blonde realized this and assumed that the female vet must have known the reason why they came.

"I'm sorry. I have already told her." Mireille finally opened up the conversation.

"I see.." Dr. Naomi looked down at her shoes, obviously avoided contact with Kirika.

"Kirika.." Mireille said the Japanese girl name softly, as she glanced at the brunette. She saw that Kirika still remained her calm and expressionless face as ever.

To Mireille surprise, Kirika suddenly looked up and glared at Doctor Naomi. "I hate you." she simply declared.

It was the first time for Mireille to see Kirika behaved this way to others. So the blonde decided to have her mouth shut.

"I know. You have the right to be." Doctor Naomi said in a sad tone, still hadn't dare to look up.

"But.." muttered Kirika. "I'm glad you are alive." she said softly.

Doctor Naomi looked surprised and shocked at first as she suddenly looked at Kirika. "Do you.. accept me as your mother..?"

Kirika's brown orbs observed Doctor Naomi for a while as she remained quiet. The female vet spontaneously looked at Kirika. Brown orbs met with brown orbs.

Kirika finally nodded very slowly. This soft gesture blew up a relieved smile from Dr. Naomi. "Thank you." she said.

Felt that she wasn't supposed to be with them at this moment, Mireille slowly stood up and walked to the door.

When she was about to open the door, Kirika said softly to her, "Wait for me, will you..?"

Mireille smiled and nodded at the Japanese girl, then stepped out of the room.

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You are wrong if you think this is the end..! Sorry if you dislike my story, but I can't help it since I have to do it to get to the main part I have been thinking about.. Thank you for reading this far.. Hope you are looking forward for the next chapter..! Review, please..?


	8. Chapter 8

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself**

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**I want to say thanks for all people who read this fanfic so far until here.. especially for all that have given me their reviews.. your reviews keep me typing..!**

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Asked to wait for the brunette, Mireille did so. She patiently waited for Kirika and sat quietly at first on a chair in the clinic's living room. A few minutes passed by just by the blonde sitting there. Finally, Mireille felt bored. She realized that she had been waiting alone, because so far no one invited the clinic. The blonde stood up and hummed, while wandered aimlessly. As Kirika hadn't showed up yet, Mireille just continued repeated all the things she had done before to kill time.

The blonde once again throw herself on the chair she had been sitting on before. _She has known about Dr. Naomi.. thanks to me. _Mireille slightly shook her head. _No. It isn't a mistake to tell her. I did the right thing..,didn't I..? She seems happy to meet her mother.. Who won't, after all..?_

The blonde let out a long sighed and looked at the house ceiling. Despite her facial look, the blonde was seriously frustrated. The Corsican girl started arguing to herself, as usual.

As Mireille was still occupied by her mind, she didn't hear someone's footsteps approaching. "She said she wanted to talk to you, too." a voice calmly said.

Mireille almost jumped when she suddenly heard the voice. She glanced to her left and looked at the person who caused it. She saw a pair of brown eyes was looking at her. The blonde quickly analyzed the face of the girl beside her. Still, the brunette's face was as expressionless as ever. Mireille felt relieved by it. She's not stressed, then..

The blonde didn't realize that she hadn't replied Kirika's sentence. "Mireille..? " The Japanese-looking girl said slowly. "Are you alright..?"

_Alright...? Do I look like sick for you..?_ Just then, the blonde realized that she didn't really pay attention to what Kirika said before. She focused her mind, and finally remembered what exactly Kirika was asking about. "Uh.. Sorry," Mireille looked at Kirika, a bit embarrassed. "You said she wanted to talk to me..?"

"Yes."

Mirelle said softly, "I see."

The blonde looked at Kirika for some time, as if wanting to ask something. But in the end, she turned her back and said nothing, and quietly moved her feet. As Mireille had started walking, she suddenly realized that Kirika didn't follow her. She turned her back and saw the Japanese girl was simply watching her.

"I'll wait here," Kirika stated shortly.

"_Oh.." She wants to talk to me alone.., huh..?_ As Mireille arrived in front of the destination door, she knocked twice at it.

"Come in, Mireille," said a voice that likely was Doctor Naomi's.

Mireille opened the door and stepped in. The blonde instantly sat herself on the big sofa, and saw that the female vet was smiling, or rather grinning.

"Are you really done talking with Kirika..?" Mireille abruptly asked. Somehow she didn't feel like in the mood to reply the female vet's smile toward her.

"Not really, actually. I still have a lot to talk with her about." Doctor Naomi's grin became even wider. "It can wait, after all."

_She didn't invite me only to show her weird smile to me, did she..?_ Mireille looked seriously at Dr. Naomi. "So, what is it that made you want to talk to me..?"

"I want you to just listen to me," Doctor Naomi simply answered in a cheerful tone. "Will you?"

Mireille thought for a while. "..Okay," she muttered softly.

Upon hearing the answer, a serious look replaced the smile on Dr. Naomi's face.

"You know.. When you two came an hour ago wearing the same expression, I felt that all my life was betting on the event coming after," Doctor Naomi muttered softly.

Mireille kept silent, as she listened further.

"I felt afraid at that time, and my heart was beating like crazy. I know that she must already know about me.." Doctor Naomi stopped, as if trying to remember something. "The moment she told me she hated me, I felt I was ready to accept death."

_You should have told her yourself sooner.., don't you think..??_

The female vet stopped talking for some time. But so sudden after that, her silence was over and the female vet smiled cheerfully.

"I feel really happy and relieved that she wants to talk to me after."

"Mmm.." Mireille made a grumbling noise.

"Thank you very much, Mireille. I can't tell you what for to be exact, but I really feel like doing so."

_Yeah.. after all it is all thanks to me.._ "..Okay." Mireille muttered.

Dr. Naomi continued talking. "I know that I am not supposed to hope that she will receive me, after all I did to her. But somehow, I have a feeling that sooner or later she will accept me."

"Yeah, you left her," Mireille muttered. "You're lucky that she is kind."

"Of course she is. She is my daughter. " Doctor Naomi proudly said.

A moment of silence hanged between them for a couple minutes.

"I've been wondering for long.." Mireille slowly said, as she looked seriously at the brown pairs of eyes in front of her. "What exactly happened to Kirika..?"

As if already expecting the question, Dr. Naomi made not a slightest bit reaction of surprise and calmly answered, "That's what I want you to listen to me for."

"So, what happened..?" Mireille insisted.

Dr. Naomi smiled slightly, and told Mireille the story.

"It was around sixteen years ago when Kirika was born. The truth is, she was born in Japan, in a remote village, one that wasn't related to world's problem at all. When she was born, all my husband and I felt was happiness. She's gorgeous. As a baby, Kirika grew normally with me. She was supposed to be a normal kid later, but unfortunately a descendant of my family had a different fate which can't be denied. Let's just say that we are a family who has to learn fighting. We learn it to become some kind of bodyguard. You must know that many important people have lots of people who want to kill them, right..? Old fashion as we may be, we compete with other old families to become the best "bodyguards". Our family is well known as the best one to choose for among others. It must be hard to believe our existence nowadays, as those kind of things are not common knowledge."

Mireille gave a look of confusion at Dr. Naomi.

The female vet smiled and said, "You must wonder why old families like us can use guns but not katanas,right..? We followed the change of era, of course."

The blonde nodded in understanding slightly. Dr. Naomi stopped for a moment to breathe, and continued.

"Once Kirika reached age two, it was a fate that she was separated from me. She soon will reach the age when one should be trained to protect somebody. It used to be boys who were trained, but the circumstances couldn't be helped. It was really a crisis those days. As there was not much descendant who was willing at that time, Kirika was trained harshly to fulfill our family purpose, whatever it was at that time. It couldn't be avoided since Kirika was a daughter of my husband, who was a prodigy at all martial arts. My grandfather who taught her was somewhat proud of her outstanding skill. He trained her with all his might. He hoped Kirika could be the best amongst the family. But some event occurred and grandpa became unstable. I guessed he met with troubles which made him very depressed. In the end he trained Kirika more and more intensely everyday and worse, without affection at all. I couldn't meet Kirika at all, as my grandfather didn't allow it at all. My grandfather would violently torture Kirika if she made a little mistake. As expected, the effect wasn't good. Grandpa overdid it. I heard that Kirika would finish her training wounded all over her body. Her eyes also reflected deep sadness and depression. She would sometimes scream at people with no reason, or did some other weird things. She was a kid, after all. She lacked love and comfort for children her age."

Mireille listened seriously to Dr. Naomi. She noticed that the female vet's facial expression change a little bit sadder as the story was told further more.

"Knowing that Kirika was gradually trained as if she were a machine, I couldn't sit still. As a mother, I decided to save her. One day I sneaked into my grandfather's place at night, and took Kirika with me. My husband also agreed and joined me, protecting Kirika on our way to escape. At first, we assumed that we would be okay as we could run fast. But the problem came later. We were haunted by grandpa's underlings as we ran away. My husband told me to just leave, and he would take care of those men. I tried my best to come to the destination place where I've found to leave Kirika. It was some kind of a peaceful house, with a field of wine. I thought it was a nun's academy, or something. I met the head of that house in panic, a woman named Altena. She kindly welcomed Kirika, without asking much. Her manner impressed me, and I just felt like trusting her. Relieved that Kirika would be safe here, I continued to run away. My father may punish me, but not Kirika."

Mireille couldn't help but feel surprised after hearing the story. She didn't expect Kirika or Doctor Naomi to be burdened by such fate because of their family.

As the female vet was taking her breath, the blonde asked slowly, "What happened after..?"

"I was secluded at some place, forbid to do anything, derived from all my freedom." The female vet said softly. "But my grandfather died a year ago. So I'm free. That's why I started searching for my daughter."

"Where's your husband, now..?"

"He is.." Doctor Naomi whispered weakly, "he passed away."

"I'm sorry," the blonde quickly said.

"It's okay."

Mireille changed the topic, "Do you know that the peaceful place you were talking about.." The blonde's gaze fell upon the brown orbs in front her. "It's not a nun academy, you know."

Doctor Naomi smiled slightly. "Yes. But I still can't imagine Kirika trained with my grandpa any longer."

_Trained there or not, she was literary a killing machine, once.._

"Hmm.." grumbled Mireille. The blonde slowly looked at Doctor Naomi. "Did Kirika know about this..?"

"I have told her everything. But as I expected, she remembers nothing about it."

"As you expected..?" Mireille asked, perplexed.

"She lost all her memories at that time, whether it was erased or not, I don't know."

"Maybe it was Altena's doing."

"Maybe." Doctor Naomi said in a calm tone. "You know, " the female vet suddenly grinned at Mireille. "The reason I told you about this..?

The blonde replied nothing and simply looked at the doctor, waiting an answer.

The older one of the two laughed, "It's because I happened to see that you 'care' for her." The word "care" was emphasized by Doctor Naomi for some reason.

Mireille in return blushed and looked at some place other than the vet. _Whatt??!How could she know..??!!_

"Just kidding," Dr. Naomi stated cheerfully. "But I'm happy to realize that you care for her so much."

After a few more words, their conversation end. Doctor Naomi and Mireille stepped out of the room together. Then, Mireille found the brunette was doing something like playing with the animals in the clinic. Mireille called out the Japanese-looking girl's name. Heard that her name was called, the brunette glanced at the blonde and smiled slightly after. Kirika stood up and walked towards Mireille and Doctor Naomi.

"Do you want to talk with Doctor Naomi again, Kirika..? I'm done talking." Mireille asked.

Kirika shook her head. "Let's go.. home."

"You two must be tired." The female vet said calmly. "See you tomorrow then, Kirika."

"Yes," the Japanese girl replied.

Mireille and Kirika both excused their self after that. Dr. Naomi waved cheerfully to the two of them as the two left the clinic, walking slowly and waved back to her.

On their way to the apartment, Mireille couldn't help but felt worried about the brunette. Though from the facial and physical look the brunette was as calm as usual, who knows what is inside? Mireille decided to ask later. They walked for about ten minutes before reached the apartment. Mireille unlocked the door and stepped in slowly, while Kirika followed behind.

"I'll make tea," Kirika whispered to Mireille, as she headed to the kitchen.

Mireille let out a long sigh of exhaustion. Then she threw herself on her usual chair, waiting for the tea. Many thought were swinging in her mind.

Not too long after, Kirika brought the tea pot carefully to the table. As usual, Mireille took two cups first from the kitchen, before enjoying the tea. As the brunette was pouring the tea, the sign that the two of them were done with the preparations, Mireille silently gazed at the brunette's face. _How much time left do I have to just be able to look at her like this.. if she is about to leave..?_

"Here's your tea," Kirika said softly as she gave the cups to the blonde.

Mireille received the cup. The tea was still too hot to drink, so she decided to drink it later. The blonde unconsciously started gazing at Kirika again.

The brunette seemed to have noticed that Mireille was gazing at her, as her cheeks turned a little bit redder.

"Mireille..?" Kirika whispered softly, puzzled.

The blonde woke up. She looked up at Kirika and found that the Japanese girl was looking at her. Her brown orbs reflected confusion.

"Felt sleepy..?" Kirika slowly asked.

"Uh.. No." the blonde muttered. "I just... Nothing."

With that answer, Kirika silently sipped her tea while Mireille played with the spoon on her palms.

"Kirika.. How do you feel right now..?" Mireille asked softly.

The Japanese girl smiled, "Good."

"Really..?"

"Yes."

"Hmm.. She told me your life story, too.." the blonde said, as a smile hanged on her face. "Pretty interesting."

The Japanese girl looked confusedly at Mireille. "You think so..?"

"Yeah.." Mireille answered.

"I don't remember anything... about it."

"She told me that, too.." Mireille smiled. "Say, does Doctor Naomi really feel like your real mother..?"

Kirika looked at Mireille and gazed at the blonde's blue orbs. "I still.. don't know," she whispered softly.

"Oh.. okay."

"Uh.." Kirika looked away from Mireille, and lowered her head. "I just.. don't know what it feels like to have a family." she said softly. "I.. don't know and remember much of people. I just know to kill, use weapon, or else."

Mireille realized the brunette's facial change. She then took one of Kirika's hands on the table and hold it tight. None of the two seemed to realize that they were now already used to that kind of contact. The blonde smiled, tried to comfort the younger girl in front of her.

"You don't have to feel bad about it, Kirika. I understand."

Kirika's brown eyes fell upon Mireille. "Maybe.. she really is my mother. Though for now.. I still can't really tell the differences between her.. and other nice people."

The Japanese-looking girl grasped the blonde's hand. "But.. I can tell that you aren't just nice, Mireille." she whispered in a very small voice. "Different."

Mireille flushed upon hearing that. _No. She didn't mean it like I thought it is, for sure._

"Together with you.. is different.." Kirika said slowly. "I don't know," she sighed after saying that.

"Thank you, Kirika. You are not only nice to me, too."

Mireille felt some pain slipped inside her heart, as she couldn't tell Kirika how she cares so much about her, how she wants to embrace her so badly. Mireille admitted that she was afraid to tell the Japanese girl. The blonde didn't have the slightest bit of confidence that her feeling would be replied by the brunette.

Pushing all the desperate thought aside, Mireille smiled cheerfully at Kirika. "You know.. There's no one else in the world that can make me blabber about everything I know, besides you," the blonde laughed after saying that.

Kirika in return also chuckled happily. The blonde's smiled grew wider as she looked at the brunette's laughing face. After that, both Mireille and Kirika talked about everything except anything related to Dr. Naomi. They simply enjoyed each other company, and talked until they felt sleepy and went to bed.

* * *

sorry for the late update.. can't help it since i have lotzzzz of exams.. TT

thanks for reading.. and still, the story hasn't ended yet..! please review..


	9. Chapter 9

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself**

It's been a while since the secret had been revealed. As if nothing had happened, the Japanese-looking girl still helped the female vet in the clinic as her assistant, although no longer everyday but only Tuesday to Friday. Kind as she was, Doctor Naomi agreed to it right away. Due to Kirika's schedule of work, there was still some time when Mireille easily get bored without her around, which sometimes made the blonde became even more paranoid at losing the brunette. But as time kept passed by, the blonde had been able to manage her uneasy feeling. Sometimes Mireille could easily ignore the thought and destroyed it completely from her mind. As the Japanese looking girl was now back by spent much time with her, Mireille was simply delighted.

It was now Sunday morning, and that meant that Kirika did not need to work. Mireille as usual was sitting in front of her laptop, browsing. While Kirika, unusually was watching a drama from the television. From a quick glance and the noise aside, the blonde assumed that the drama was about a man rescuing his lovers. Strange enough, the brunette had been following the drama every week, as if the movie was fascinating or something. It was now had been a new activity for the Japanese-looking girl finally, besides gazing to the sky.

In the middle of her hectic activity, Mireille's laptop screen suddenly went black. The Corsican girl tried to turn it on again, and unfortunately failed. A few times trying with no satisfying result, the blonde started swearing. Her laptop was broken, no further explanation. Despite how noisy the room had become, Kirika sat still on her position, and remained focus to the TV screen, as if her eyes glued on it.

Finally Mireille, tired by swearing and grumbling, decided to join the brunette watched the TV. The two of them watched the drama in silence at first. Some minutes passed, and a sound of yawn slightly heard from Mireille. The drama was boring to her.

"Why do you like it so much..? I don't see anything interesting, honestly.." said Mireille.

"Hmm..." Kirika didn't answer the question, as her brown orbs still attached to the TV screen.

Mireille sighed. "Whatever.."

"It's.. confusing me." whispered Kirika slowly.

"Confusing you..? What..?"

"It looks strange." Kirika said shortly.

Mireille felt puzzled. "What do you mean..?"

Kirika now glanced at her partner. "The girl refused the man."

"Eh..?" Mireille didn't understand what the brunette tried to tell her. "So what..?"

The Japanese girl once more didn't answer. Confused, Mireille watched the film further more to find the answer by herself. Finally it became clear for Mireille that the story wasn't what she expected to be. It somehow continued to a scene where a father tried to rape his children. It was obviously clear that the girl didn't want her father, as she was struggling and screaming. The Japanese-girl didn't get it, tough.

Got the point, the blonde smiled. "They aren't even lovers, Kirika. They are parent and daughter; a family."

Kirika looked at Mireille with a confused look.

Mireille showed a serious expression. "Family is not meant to do anything like that."

"Doesn't family love each other..?"

"Yeah.. But.."

The Japanese girl whispered softly, "I don't understand."

"Uh.." Mireille lost her word. _How come that I got to explain about love to someone I love..?_

As now the drama was cut by some commercial, the brunette looked at Mireille. Her brown eyes showed a desire for a further explanation.

"It's.. uh.." Mireille muttered. _God, shs she ever fallen in love..??_

Still couldn't get the idea how to explain it, the blonde pushed her brain to think. She could have tried to browse the exact meaning of love in the internet, but since her laptop was broken, the blonde couldn't do so. In the end she came up trying an example.

"Let's see.. You don't fall in love with your family. You care for them, you love them." Mireille explained.

The Japanese looking girl still got the 'I don't understand' look on her face.

"But, your family isn't your 'special person'. When you found this person, your special person I mean, you fall in love with him first, and kind of feel some passion and urge.." the blonde carefully explained, as her cheeks turned red. "to hold him, kiss him, or have him."

The Japanese girl stared blankly at Mireille. "I still.. haven't really understood.."

_It wasn't a good explanation after all, I know.._ The blonde sighed.

"Of course you haven't.." Mireille looked at the brunette sitting next to her. "Have you.. ever loved somebody, Kirika..?" she asked, curious.

"Fall.. in love..?" Kirika seemed surprised at this question, as she raised her eyebrows.

"Yes."

The brunette seemed to lose in her own thought. She said nothing for some time, before finally looked up to see the blonde's face.

"Does.. a feeling of care count..?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah.. somehow.." Mireille said, smiling. _Who is she talking about, I wonder..?_

"Mireille.. Can you tell me more about this 'love'..?" Kirika asked.

"Eh..? Okay.. What do you want to know..?" Mireille couldn't help but felt a little bit confused by how determined Kirika was to know more about love.

"What.. do you feel when you look at this 'special person'?"

"Uh.." Mireille looked at Kirika, who was also looking at her. "Some desire to kiss, or to just be close to that person," said the blonde, now avoiding eye contact with the brunette. "Actually.. sometimes your heart will even pound faster, especially on a few occasion.."

"What.. occasion..?" Kirika insisted.

"Well.. When that person was smiling gorgeously, or very close to me.."

Mireille was about to add 'when her skin is barely wrapped with towel, when the clothes she's wearing are revealing.. ' It was fortunate though that the blonde could stop herself from saying things in her mind.

"Is that.. true..?" was what the Japanese looking girl slowly asked.

"Yeah.. That's what I think." said Mireille lightly.

It was then that the blonde saw that the Japanese girl looked like she was in a deep thought. "Something's in your mind, Kirika..?"

The Japanese girl smiled. "Nothing."

With that answer, their conversation about love was over for the day.

Mireille once again was stressed by her dead laptop on the next day.

"Why can't it turn on..? This damn laptop..!!" the blonde shouted her desperation out loud.

"Why don't we bring it to some place to be repaired..?" Kirika suggested.

Mireille stopped exclaiming for some seconds, as her brain was considering about the advice she got.

"I don't like it.. actually.." She looked at her laptop and glared fiercely at it. "But since I can't do anything, it can't be help."

Kirika smiled, "Let's go, then."

The two of them then walked to the door, while Mireille carrying her laptop. Just when Kirika was about to open it, she stopped. Someone was knocking. The brunette automatically reached her pocket, to convince that her gun was ready. It had been a habit out of caution, since they were already anybody's enemy by became assassins. When they felt ready, the blonde slowly opened the door.

The unknown guest was calmly stood after her, as if already expecting a gun pointed at her.

"You again," Mireille said, as she steadily pointed her gun at the guest.

"Hi there, both of you." she greeted Mireille and Kirika.

The Japanese girl said nothing and smiled to the unexpected visitor. The blonde lowered her gun slowly. She knew from experienced that she would sooner or later lower it down.

"What do you want, Chloe..?" the blonde asked in a bored tone.

The purple haired girl smiled enigmatically. "I bring something..," she looked at Mireille. "you've been waiting for."

Killed her desire to just slam the door in front of Chloe's face, Mireille asked, "What is it..?"

"It's not exactly a thing." Chloe calmly said. She approached Mireille and said right in front of the blonde's nose, "I hereby challenged you on a fight."

_Huh?_ Mireille seemed confused and startled at the same time. As she found no word to show her expression, the Japanese girl replaced her position first.

"What do you mean, Chloe..?" Kirika softly asked, also confused.

"I'll fight with her. One on one." Chloe proudly said.

"What for..?" the Japanese girl insisted.

"Yes." said Mireille. "Why must I accept your foolish whim..?" _Though it's true that I've been dreaming to kill her.._

Chloe had a look of sadism on her face, "It's because you ignored what I said."

Before Mireille could reply, the purple haired girl move forward and grabbed the collar of her shirt. She then brought Mireille to the edge of the room, pushing her hardly on the wall. The Japanese girl herself knew the best that her roommate and Chloe hadn't get along well. But to Kirika's surprised, the blonde seemed to let Chloe did as she want. Beside, Mireille calmly stared at Chloe while being carried. That's why the Japanese girl decided to not interfered them for a while. Kirika did nothing besides reflected worry on her face.

"What the hell do you want?!" Mireille whispered in an angry tone, while trying to keep her cool.

"Don't you remember what I said..?!" Chloe's voice was as low and quiet as Mireille's. "Kill her!"

"What the..?" suddenly the blonde remembered her last conversation with the girl next to her.

_It wasn't me who suppose to kill her. Rather, it's you._

Mireille's glare at Chloe became even sharper. "You just said that I was the one who supposed to kill her. You didn't say that I must kill her. I will never do what you want me to, after all." Mireille smiled in victory.

Chloe seemed to be embarrassed at herself, as she said nothing to reply the blonde's sentences. The purple haired girl must have realized that she didn't ask Mireille to kill Dr. Naomi.

"Now you can let me go."

Chloe loosen her grip on Mireille when the blonde finished her word. Kirika, standing in front of the door quietly watched both her friends unusual action. She couldn't hear what they were talking about though, as their voice was kept low.

The purple haired girl shut her mouth for a while before opened it up and whispered, "Still I challenged you to a duel."

"What for?"

"The winner will have Kirika."

At the last sentence, Mireille felt her heart pounded hardly it could have hurt her if it was alive.

She calmed herself and said, "Stupid brat. I will never allow Kirika to be the prize."

"I know that deep inside your heart, you WANT to kill me," Chloe's voice was as cold as ice.

"I have no time to chit-chatting with you," Mireille declared as she moved her body, preparing to walk out of the room.

As skilled as she was, Chloe blocked Mireille's path. "Listen. I am no longer patient. You are intimidating me by slacking off and playing around." she said. "That's why I myself will protect her."

"Play around..?" Mireille snapped. "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that..?!"

"You can show me your skill. Accept."

"There's no need to." The blonde threw her head away from Chloe. "Besides she can protect herself properly. She never needs you."

"That's not what I mean, you dumb..!" Chloe tried to lower her voice as she could when she said that.

"I don't care. Pissed off..!"

"Looks like there's no way make you agree," the purple haired girl said sharply.

Chloe's voice definitely brought chill ran down on Mireille's spine this time.

As the purple haired girl lowered her head and remained silent, the blonde took a few steps aside to make a distance, which fortunately was ignored by Chloe. Mireille's instinct told her that this wasn't good at all. The blonde tried to walk as far away as she could from Chloe.

Just when Mireille was about to reach her boots and grabbed her gun, a number of sharp knives suddenly flew in rampage inside the room, all directed to her. As the blonde was already aware of the unfriendly situation, she could dodge almost all the knives. _Fucking crazy brat! This is an apartment, doesn't she think about it..!?_

The sound of knives stabbed on the floor and the wall were dancing in the room. It was lucky that Chloe hadn't broken a mirror, which could easily invite unneeded gossip. As Mireille pulled out her gun and ready to shoot, Chloe was already throwing two knives at her, which could hardly be dodged now. One of the knives accidentally stabbed into Mireille's left arm, causing the Corsican girl to wince in pain for a second. The blonde tried her best to run and rolled under the pool table, avoiding the knives and completely ignored the pain on her left arm. When the purple haired girl's expression turned into some more horrible one and was preparing to launch even more knives, a sudden boom was heard.

It was Kirika who made the noise. The Japanese girl had shot her bullet right in front Chloe's nose, missing 2 cm on purpose. With that, all Chloe's actions were stopped.

"Enough," Kirika calmly said, her gun was hold tight on her palm. Her face once again became expressionless as usual.

Mireille, felt relieved by the sudden outcome which likely was a truce, sighed. _Thanks God she's here._

"Chloe." Kirika took two steps forward approaching Chloe. "Can you explain?" she asked in a friendly tone, but somehow was also cold.

Chloe now was stepping backward, unconsciously felt guilty and also angry. She definitely was broken by the brunette's word and at the same time hated to be disturbed. "Why do you choose her..?" she muttered to herself. After that, Chloe said nothing and jumped off from the window.

Before she jumped out, Mireille saw that the purple haired girl glanced over to her and said something like, "It's not over yet."

Mireille, suddenly aware of the pain on her left arm, tried to release the knife.

"Urgh!" she exclaimed in pain when the knife was released. The blonde looked at her wound. _Geez.. She made a deep one.._

Kirika knelt down beside Mireille and looked worriedly at the wound. "Is there anywhere else that hurt, Mireille..?" she whispered.

The blonde simply shook her head.

"Wait, I will take the medicine," said the brunette softly, as she stood up and went on.

Mireille's mind went on to the action that had just happened. _Why does she want to kill Dr. Naomi that much..?? Private grudge..? Suspicious.._

In the middle of her thought, Mireille felt her head was dizzy. With that, everything then went black.

* * *

exam is over..! thanks for the warm welcome, vivi the demon goddess of fire, and breaktherules..! thanks for reading my story..! lol.. please review if you can..!


	10. Chapter 10

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself.**

Walking in hurry as to bringing the medicine back to the room, Kirika gasped at the view of Mireille lying down unconsciously on the floor. Carefully the Japanese girl carried up the blonde and quickly laid her on bed. The blonde's wound was cleaned and bandaged by the brunette after. Kirika was unsurprisingly well trained on it, as she wrapped the blonde's left arm deliberately.

An hour had passed, and finally Mireille showed the sign of regain consciousness. The blonde moved her body slightly, and slowly opened up her eyes.

"You are awake.." whispered the brunette in relief.

Mireille, still laying down, glanced to her right where she heard the voice.

Saw Kirika silently sitting beside her, waiting for her, the blonde smiled weakly. "Kirika.." She looked at her arm which was bandaged neatly. "Thank you."

"It seems that you lost too many blood.." said Kirika, smiling. ".. that's why you suddenly felt dizzy and all."

Mireille put her right arm on the bed and pushed it to help her sat. Quite deep as the wound was already, Mireille did slightly felt a pain just for sit, though the Japanese girl already helped her.

"Does it hurt..?" asked the Japanese girl.

"Yeah, a bit. But I'm okay." Mireille said, as she finally made herself comfortable. "How did you bring me here..?"

"I carried you," the brunette answered calmly.

_Carried me..?_ The thought that she was carried by Kirika, made Mireille flushed a little.

"Aren't I.. heavy..?" she asked, shy. She knew tough, that the brunette surely wasn't weak at all on physical strength, despite her tiny appearance.

Kirika chuckled. "Not.. really."

Still flushing, Mireille glanced at her left arm. "Did someone ask anything.. about what happened..?"

"An old lady came over and asked." replied Kirika. "I told her we were simply fighting."

"Fighting..? Did she believe you..?"

The Japanese girl nodded quietly.

"Any others..?"

".. No.. Not yet."

The blonde let out a sigh. "Your innocent face surely helps a lot." she said. "How's the room..?"

"Nothing.. badly damaged."

"I see.."

A gap of silence was created between them for some minutes, before the Japanese girl finally decided to speak up.

Hesitation showed in her voice, Kirika asked, "What was.. she talking about with you..?"

"..She challenged me on a duel."

Kirika looked seriously at the blonde. "I know.. that."

"Uh.. I refused to do that, and she became angry."

"That's why she attacked you..?" asked the brunette sharply.

"Maybe." Mireille looked away from the Japanese girl. She hoped her gesture would make Kirika realized that she didn't want to talk about it further, tough Mireille herself didn't know why. Talking about Chloe simply was not in her "favorite things to do" list.

Oblivious, the Japanese girl asked in confusion, "Why did.. she challenge you, Mireille..?"

"..Dunno." murmured the blonde.

Unfortunate for the blonde, Kirika was in the mood to know something. Considering how bizarre the situation had gotten, the brunette raised her eyebrows slightly. "Are you.. hiding something..?"

"..No."

The brunette launched her assault right after, as she gave the Corsican girl one of her icy stares, directed right to the blonde's blue eyes. Pushed under the brunette's cold eyes icy pressure, Mireille avoided the eye contact and tried her best to act like she was suffering from her wound. Quickly and almost spontaneously, the blonde touched her left arm where the wound was and whispered some words of pain.

"Ugh..!" _Just help me.. Kirika..!_

Unfortunately, her act failed miserably, as she was ignored completely by the brunette. Not even moving an inch from her current position, Kirika's brown orbs still calmly stared at Mireille's. Knew what her faith would be, the blonde decided to give up quickly in the end.

The Corsican girl heaved a long sighed. "Looks like you win, like always." She looked at Kirika. "What was it that you asked..?"

The Japanese girl smiled cheerfully, before started to look serious again."Why was she angry..?"

"I refused to talk to her. I don't want to do the fight."

"Why did.. she suddenly challenge you to fight her..?" Kirika gave a look of questioning. "There.. must be a reason."

"It's.." Mireille muttered. "maybe, she... wants you."

"Huh..?" the Japanese girl asked, puzzled.

"She wants to protect you," said Mireille. "She said the winner will be the one qualified to protect you."

The Japanese girl looked at the blonde, "Protect me..?"

"Yes. Seems like she wants to do it.. so much."

Kirika looked confused. "Why..?"

"I don't know," Mireille said, lying. She knew exactly that Chloe would happily die if it's for the brown haired girl's sake. "She kept insisting, tough I told her that you are already good for yourself. You don't need her, in other words."

To the blonde's surprise, Kirika suddenly muttered. "Am I..?"

Mireille said no word, and simply looked at Kirika. _Hasn't she ever thought that she is capable enough..?_

"..Mireille." the Japanese girl's soft voice made the blonde looked at her right, caused her eyes met the brunette's beautiful brown orbs. "Don't you feel the need.. to protect me..?" Kirika asked the question timidly.

Mireille's eyes turned wider in confusion. "..Hah?"

_What..?! It's not.._

Mireille became speechless, and lost at words. She did say that Kirika didn't need someone like Chloe to protect her. But that was just in order to make the purple haired girl lost and realized her stupid purpose. The blonde knew that she herself would gladly protect the brunette, with or without asked. Too occupied by her inner thought and shocked by the sudden question, the blonde unconsciously stared on blankly. The blonde hardly thought about the answer she should give.

Meanwhile, the Japanese girl kept looking at the Corsican girl, her brown orbs glimmered, waiting an answer. As Mireille's brain refused to give out a proper answer and she hadn't yet given a word to reply, the brunette's glimmering eyes slowly faded, replaced by sadness. The Japanese girl lowered her head and smiled sadly, sooth herself.

".. Sorry," Kirika said, as she pulled herself up, prepared to stand up and left the room. "I'll make tea for you."

Kirika was about to walk on but was stopped when suddenly she felt the blonde's hand reached hers. "No.. Uh.. Wait." Mireille murmured softly. She unconsciously pulled Kirika to sit back. _Geez..! What made me think that long..!?_

The brunette looked at the blonde in confusion, but once again sat beside the blonde, hand clutched still.

Mireille gulped, braved herself and gazed at the brown orbs next to her. "It's not that I don't care about you, Kirika.." she said softly, finally regained an answer.

The brunette didn't reply, and listened obediently.

"Just for you know.. I.." the blonde lowered her voice at almost the lowest stage. A whisper would definitely make a louder noise, if compared with the word Mireille took a really long time to say. "really care for you.."

The Japanese girl somehow seemed to catch the words said, and smiled happily. "Really..?"

"Yeah.." the blonde muttered.

"Thank you." Kirika smiled beautifully at Mireille.

The blonde blushed a little and grumbled some unclear words, which meant for herself only.

"Uh, Mireille.." the Japanese looking girl whispered softly. "You said.. that a feeling of care count, right..?"

Mireille suddenly felt her body heat increased thousand times. She could feel that her cheeks became hotter, her heart also pounded even faster it could have easily heard by anybody who listened closely at her heart beat. Just to hide her deep red face, Mireille avoided the brunette's gaze and looked down to her bed. _Did I just confess.. to her..??_

The blonde tried to keep her cool, tough was fooled by her stuttered voice. "Ye.. Yeah.. Why?"

"It's just.." Kirika whispered in a soft tone. "I kind of.. finally recognized the feeling of love.. by caring."

"Oh.." The blonde hadn't dared to look at Kirika, despite her curious urge to see what the brunette would look like right now.

Mireille waited Kirika to say more, and decided to shut her mouth for a while. Time passed and silence hung between them, yet no one spoke up. Mireille stole a glance at the Japanese girl and to her surprise, found the brunette somehow had a little wrinkle on her forehead. In deep thought, the brunette must be.

"Kirika..?" the blonde decided to ask.

The younger of the two finally looked up right into the blonde's eyes. "Er.." She whispered timidly to the blonde, "..Is it possible for me.."

"Yes?" Mireille asked, no longer patient, as confusion and curiousity were all mixed in her head.

Then, Mireille REALLY saw Kirika flushed. The brunette's cheek turned red, which was adorable for sure, in the blonde's opinion. Once again Mireille got to kill her urge to leaned over and kiss the brunette. She couldn't help but only silently enjoy the view in front of her, instead of passionately showing what she really felt.

The Japanese girl seemed to be really nervous to look at Mireille, while her little voice turned to another lower level of sound.

"Fall in love.." she whispered shyly. "with you..?"

"Eh..?" the blonde stupidly launched the first word she came up with.

The blonde's eyes opened wider. Thinking under great confusion, Mireille thought that she was imagining things, all because she was too attracted to the brunette's cute and adorable face.

To the blonde's even more confusion, Kirika didn't reply her, and rather her cute blush got even worst redder she could had blown out her head if it could explode.

_Wasn' t it my imagination..?? Why is she blushing... so hard..??_

Mireille blinked. "Did you just say that.. you.. love me..?"

"I just 'asked' if that's possible.." the Japanese girl muttered cutely. "I don't say I really feel it." she added quickly and looked up to see the blonde's face.

All of the sudden, Mireille felt a miracle shone upon her, which somehow led her heart to a proper self-confidence. The blonde smiled gracefully. The urge to seduce the brunette now was spreading inside her, and completely contagious. She decided to lean closer to Kirika and gently squeezed the younger one's hand.

"It's possible, I think.." Mireille said calmly, smiling. The blonde then gazed at Kirika's tomato red face. "Maybe you can help me tell the exact answer, by telling me what you feel.. " she leaned forward and made their face got really close they could easily have kissed each other. "when you're this close with me..?"

Kirika obviously surprised and almost jumped at the sudden close contact, as her red cheeks turned redder, and moved her head a step back.

Despite her calm facial look, deep in the heart Mireille could feel that her heart was also beating faster at every move she made toward Kirika. She herself also didn't know where she got the guts to do that, as she simply enjoyed teasing the Japanese girl, suddenly.

Mireille smiled to herself. _I got to remember that she smells so nice.._

Almost unconsciously, their eyes locked onto each other, both simply amazed by how beautiful those other eyes were, tough no words of praise came out from their mouth. The two of them gazed onto each other for a long time, before the Japanese girl cut off the eye contact by saying words.

"You.. enjoy this.." Kirika stuttered, still blushing madly. The Japanese girl lowered her head, obviously avoided direct contact from Mireille's eyes.

"You want to kiss me..,don't you?" Mireille whispered naughtily.

Kirika made no answer, but the blonde could vaguely see that a small nod was made by the brunette. The blonde grinned in happiness. She leaned forward to kiss her secret love slowly, closer and closer, regardless of the pain she felt whenever she moved her left arm. Closing the distance, now it's not even a centimeter left for her lips to reach Kirika's for the first time.

Unfortunately Mireille's action was interrupted.

"Isn't it you.. who want to kiss me..?" a voice suddenly questioned.

The Japanese girl's abrupt sentence was no doubt timid, but at the same time sharp. Mireille didn't expect the Japanese girl to speak so sudden at THAT time. However, the action had forced the blonde to stop her move.

"No." Mireille quickly answered and turned her head back to where it was, as she slowly felt her cheeks once again became hotter. She cleared her throat, disintegrating her sloppy and embarrassing action.

Unfortunately, Kirika realized the nervousness in the blonde's answer. The brunette hesitated to ask at first, as she kept silent for a while. But later, after seeing that the blonde was trying so hard to hide her face whose flushing, the Japanese girl smiled in victory and asked innocently, emphasizing her cute adorable look.

"Sure..?" Kirika asked slowly in an innocent tone, rather seducing, tough.

Mireille stole a quick glance at Kirika, who was now smiling to her. _Did she do that on purpose..??!_

The blonde knew that she was lost, as she realized that she was now the one whose cheeks as red as tomato, while Kirika was the one smiling gratefully in satisfaction. Too embarrassed to say a word and admit her defeat, Mireille shut her mouth.

"Mireille..?" Kirika softly asked. "Do you.. love me..?"

"Err.. " mumbled the blonde, still afraid to just blurt out what she felt, regardless of her mad heart which beating very quickly.

As if she didn't mean to ask the question, the Japanese girl kept talking tough rather for herself, and didn't wait for Mireille to answer her question.

"I don't know actually, how to be loved by someone.." Kirika said softly in a low voice meant not to be heard but by herself, as if hoping an unreachable dream.

Aware that a pair of blue orbs simply watching her every word, Kirika looked back at Mireille, her eyes now desired an answer, as her lips simply twisted a smile. Mireille gazed wordlessly at the Japanese girl.

As the Japanese girl was about to say something, Mireille suddenly leaned forward and hug Kirika, completely ignored or rather not felt the pain in her left arm.

"Mi.. reille..?" Kirika said, surprised, but didn't resist to be hugged.

The blonde said nothing, as this was her answer.

The embrace was not too close, as Mireille hesitated. Mireille could feel her heart stopped at the very sudden close contact she ever made with the brunette, despite their years living together.

_She may not like this.._

As the blonde was about to let go of the Japanese girl, she felt Kirika placed her hands back, circling Mireille's waist. Relief grew in her heart, Mireille hold the brunette back closer to her.

Mireille made up her mind and whispered right into the brunette's ear in a low voice, "I.. do want to kiss you.."

The Japanese girl smiled, tough Mireille couldn't see it. "I do too, Mireille.." Kirika said softly in a caressing tone.

The two of them, still hugging onto each other, and leaned closer to the other's face. As they were no longer separated by formal distance, and their nose was touching, they could hear and feel each other breath.

"Have you.. kissed someone before..?" Mireille asked softly, as she enjoyed feeling the rhythm of Kirika's steady breath, as well as the closeness.

Kirika shook her head shyly, as her cheeks slowly turned to its red form.

Mireille smiled, and cup the Japanese girl's face with her hands. Then, she placed her lips on Kirika's soft and small lips, gave the brunette a long, passionate kiss. Kirika's body and lips tensed at first but began to relax at last, after felt how gentle Mireille was with her action. They kissed romantically, as each of them moaned softly.

Once they stopped to take a breath, Mireille whispered naughtily, "Like it..?"

Kirika replied with a small nod, as she licked her lips slowly, and sexy in Mireille's opinion.

The blonde didn't waste time anymore, and kissed the Japanese girl one more time, this time more intimate and passionate than before.

"I love you." Mireille said, in the middle of their romantic scene, as she once again caught her breath.

"I think I love you too, Mireille." the brunette whispered softly.

The blonde smiled and kissed Kirika, now on the forehead. Then, she pulled the Japanese girl towards her, motioned her to lie together in the bed. Simply brought closer to the blonde she loved, Kirika gladly followed. They laid together in bed, close one to another, hands on the latter's waist. That was the first time for the two of them, holding each other in such way. Mireille brushed Kirika's brown hair affectionately with her right hand, made the brunette gazed happily at the blonde's blue orbs.

"Your left arm.. is it alright..?"

Mireille smiled at the brunette. "How can it not be alright..?" she asked in a happy tone.

They smiled to each other as they leaned more and more close to each other, as in the end smiling peacefully while resting in bed.

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile in some place far from their apartment..

"I believe I have told you before. Have I not..?' a deep calm voice, fill in madness asked.

Regardless of the cold weather, and the darkness filled within the sky tonight, the woman led her little girl to walk with her, to talk outside in their special place. Their footsteps echoed down the hall of their big house, as they were the only one walking on.

The younger girl didn't answer and rather looked away from the woman in front of her, as she kept walking obediently. Telling herself to deny the fear of the sharpness and coldness in the woman's tone, the girl decided to look up. She thought she didn't do anything wrong, after all.

The older woman heaved out a long sigh. "Why did you carelessly go, my dear kid..? I cannot get it at all."

The younger girl murmured. "I won't let anyone DO that."

"Why..?" the older woman asked, her long hairs flickered by the wind's blow, as they were now already stood in the garden outside.

Seeing the kid in front of her hadn't yet replied, the woman decided to spill out the name of the green cloaked girl. "Chloe..?"

Chloe looked up and meet Altena's gaze. "I.. love her." She said, her eyes showed strong determination. "That's why."

"Love.." Altena said, disgust in her heart, despite her smiling face. "But still I cannot understand you, my child."

The purple haired girl kept her mouth shut and silent.

Still smiling horrifically, Altena calmly said. "I will never hurt you, Chloe." The older woman gazed seriously, her eyes reflected sadness, or rather in Chloe's opinion, threat. "Please, do not force me do so. Just by see you make any more of your.." she paused. "..ugly action."

Hesitation and scare mixed up in her heart, Chloe said nothing and avoided the older woman's sharp gaze. She would gladly obeyed every word Altena said to her, before. But things had changed and she no longer trust the older woman in front of her completely, tough she hate to admit the fear she encountered every time she saw the older girl's figure.

"I hope you do understand what I said, my dearest kid."

With the last sentence, the beautiful well-mannered woman left the garden, leaving Chloe all alone, desperately confused.

"Kirika.." she murmured weakly.


	11. Chapter 11

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself.**

Living the life just like couples were, it was as if all the times Mireille and Kirika had spent together before they became lovers were all nothing but the past that were completely over, something just the two of them had overcome greatly. Never ever Mireille Bouquet wished for anymore happiness than the whole life she had recently with her partner. Starting from about two weeks ago, she had had the most precious life she ever dreamed of, spending times with Kirika, who now had not only become her secret love. Since Mireille confessed to the Japanese girl, the time they spent together had been more and more wonderful as days passed on.

Mireille and Kirika must be grateful for all development of their relationship tough at first yes, both of them were a little shy to express their feeling. Lately, they could opened up their mind more to each other and did not feel awkward anymore to touch, hold hands, or else. The conversation too, was also getting more and more comfortable and enjoyable to them, as two of them now talked and laughed more.

They still had that kind gap of usual silence between them when talking, but never an uncomfortable one of it. Rather, it was now the silence they made on purpose their own to take their time, gazing onto each other eyes deeply, and smiled lovingly. Sometimes, not seldom, they also did more than just that.

Happy and thankful as she should be for what her life had become, Mireille did not yet feel completely so, as she could sense something troubling her mind. The thing was, be a lover of a daughter somehow made the blonde.. confused. Mireille would prefer to tell nobody about their relationship rather than babbling it out, that for sure. But, considering how close Kirika and Doctor Naomi had become, the Corsican girl felt responsible to tell the doctor about her and the brunette, not to mention the fear haunted in her heart, due to the possibility of be hated or despised by the female vet. She was rude to the vet in the past, no doubt, as she even pointed her gun at the Japanese girl's mother. Those facts somehow would likely make their love not acceptable, perhaps.

Kirika, innocent as she was, would not even aware of the consequences of loving the blonde whose gender was the same as her. Mireille was sure that she did not do anything wrong by loving the Japanese girl. The problem was, she heard that men from the east were still not used to accept same gender love. That one meant that, her relationship with the brunette would be questionable and maybe unacceptable, for Kirika's mother was Japanese.

In the middle of her daze, or rather her own stress, Mireille suddenly got a call. As Kirika was simply working, Mireille was the one to pick the phone up. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately for the blonde, the call led her to her problem, as the call was from Doctor Naomi, who invited her to the clinic to talk about some matters with Kirika. Too confused and a bit blank, the blonde gave the female vet a short 'yes' answer right away, and after wearing her coat, walked to the clinic.

Greeted by a warm embrace and smile from Doctor Naomi, Mireille was led to the usual white living room. Found that the person she kept dearest to her was already waiting there, Mireille gave her lovers a smile, and sat beside her. The three of them had a friendly chit-chat as always before continuing to the main topic, which turned out to be pretty surprising for the blonde.

"Go to Japan..??" an obvious tone of confusion filled in Mireille's question. Gradually, the blonde's face turned out to be paler than any other woman in the room.

"Well.. They asked me to bring her," the doctor repeated her last sentence in a happy tone, as she glanced at Mireille.

Mireille's eyes narrowed. The news was not something to make fuss of, she knew it. But still, being told that Kirika's family wanted to see, or meet the brunette for exact, somehow made uneasy impact to the blonde. Tough she somehow had mentally prepared herself to be ready to hear this thing.

"So Kirika.. Can you come..?" Doctor Naomi pleaded.

"How long.. will it be..?" the Japanese girl asked softly.

"I'm not sure yet.. But it's about one week."

"You are coming back after it, right, Doctor..?" asked Mireille.

"Hmm.." muttered the female vet as she grinned. "Maybe.."

Mireille's eyes opened up wider. _Maybe..? Then what about Kirika..??_

"What do you mean by that, Doctor..?" asked the blonde, curious.

"Well, it's possible to not come back."

"Can you tell me why..?"

"Unfortunately no," Doctor Naomi said softly. "Sort of.. family problems."

"Do I.. really have to come..?" the Japanese girl whispered timidly, hesitated to saying her question out loud.

Dr. Naomi looked at her daughter and said, "I'll be really delighted if you will. I don't force you to, anyway."

With that last sentence, a long silence hung between the three of them. Mireille, felt like it was not her place to talk first, decided to shut her mouth. Kirika, on the other hand, despite her expressionless face, was having a wrinkle on her forehead, which meant that she was thinking. The one who brought up the topic now was broadcasting her smile cheerfully. None could have guessed what exactly was in the female vet's mind right now, as so why she generously smiling since she met Mireille or maybe since before it, when the topic was not something somebody should be smiling enigmatically to anyone about.

"Why.. don't you.. invite Mireille to come, too..?" Kirika's soft voice broke the silence.

"Oh.. It's up to her." Doctor Naomi answered calmly, not looked like a slightest bit surprised.

Mireille raised one of her eyebrows curiously.

"Does it mean that she can come..?" Kirika asked, suddenly full of spirit.

Doctor Naomi nodded lightly and continued to wear on her smiling face.

Kirika, obviously excited, glanced so suddenly at Mireille, made the latter blushed slightly at how close their faces had gotten.

"You can come, Mireille," the brunette's eyes glittering in happiness, as she whispered the words to the blonde.

"Uh.. Yes.." mumbled Mireille, as she moved her head back up.

The Japanese girl in return looked more deeply in the blonde's blue eyes while giving her the look of questioning, her face looked sad. "You.. don't want to come..?"

"No. I mean, I'd love to, Kirika," Mireille said in hurry.

The Japanese girl smiled and turned her head back to face her mother. Stole a glance at the female vet, Mireille could see that the doctor's smile grew even so wider she herself felt curious whether the doctor was holding off her laughter.

Mireille cleared her throat and asked, "Is it really okay if I come..?"

"Yes." replied the female vet. "But it is likely that you won't stay in our house, Mireille. I guess you know why."

"..Yes." answered Mireille shortly.

The blonde knew that being an old family, and a pretty strict one it seemed, it was kind of impossible that an outsider such as herself will just warmly be welcomed to live in Kirika's family house and wandered freely around for just some times, not to mention the acknowledgement from two of their house members.

The reason was sufficiently clear for Mireille, tough one person in the room obviously didn't get it.

"Why..?" Kirika asked innocently.

"It seems impossible for the head family to receive an unknown guest, Kirika." Doctor Naomi explained slowly.

"But.. she isn't.. an—"

"Yes, she isn't for the two of us. But for the head family, she is." Doctor Naomi said softly.

".. then, where will Mireille live..?" the Japanese girl asked, puzzled.

"I can rent an apartment there." the blonde said lightly, despite her mentally problem. _The problem is, whether you can come back here with me or not, Kirika..! Geez..!_

The brunette didn't say anything more after that, as she looked down at her foot and shut her mouth.

"When to go, then..?" asked Mireille.

"Saturday. Two days from now." answered the female vet, still smiling.

"..Okay."

"Is it alright for you, Kirika..?"

The girl in question looked up in surprise, as she just remained in daze before. "..Yes."

"Well.. Well.." Doctor Naomi grinned. "I wonder what are you thinking.."

"It—"

"Let me guess." The female vet cut off the word, as her eyes twinkled in excitement. The doctor looked like waiting for this moment, as she made her voice as low and a-super-secret as possible. "You want to be with Mireille, don't you..?" she whispered naughtily.

Seeing Kirika blushed at the word, Mireille also found her cheeks also felt hotter than usual. As the blonde was thinking in panic, trying to find the word to describe everything she wanted to tell the female vet, she heard somebody's laughter. Looking up, she saw that the audible sound however, came from Doctor Naomi.

Mireille, slightly annoyed, looked in perplexity at the older woman. "Something.. funny..?"

"Sorry.. " the female vet's eyes became teary as she hold off her laughter. "It's just.. interesting to see how cute and shy the two of you are."

Mireille glanced at her lover beside, and found the brunette was the in the same boat with her, confusion.

"So.. You know that.." Mireille hesitated. "We are.. in love..?"

Smiling in satisfaction to herself, Doctor Naomi replied, "Of course."

_Is that why she keep smiling.. mysteriously..?_

Mireille narrowed her eyes once again, thinking all plausible options of why the female vet knew how things going between her and Kirika. They never acted like one in front of Doctor Naomi, after all. The blonde took a glance at the Japanese girl. Judging from the current condition and the close relationship between the brunette and her mother now, it was very likely that Kirika told her mother about it, but.. looking at how innocent and embarrassed the Japanese girl's face was, it somehow felt not the right conclusion.

Nervousness, confusion, embarrassment and many other things mixed up the feeling in her heart, Mireille decided to raise her head and looked at her beloved's mother, who was smiling in victory.

"I figured it out myself." Doctor Naomi finally admitted after receiving Mireille's questioning gaze.

"..How..?"

"Well.." the female vet sighed. "How could I don't know..? When my daughter smiling more and more often every days she comes after going home.. Or when her eyes twinkling when she said something about you, or when she seemed to be lovingly and caressingly careful when she said your name, Mireille..?" The doctor put on a heavy emphasis on the blonde's name.

Swallowed the long explanation carefully, Mireille blushed hotly and sank deep in her own embarrass at her love relationship. Kirika was the same, as her face had coloured in deep red as if all her blood was flowing upside down, all to her face.

"Sorry to not telling you first, Doctor." Mireille apologized in a low voice.

"Ah.. It's okay."

"So.." the blonde muttered as she faced the female vet. "Are you okay with.. that?"

Doctor Naomi looked like considering something before answered, "No."

At that short and cold answer, Mireille could feel something stabbed her heart and stop its function for a second. The couple were now looking at the older women hopelessly, obviously disappointed and speechless. A short silence stretched afterwards.

"..Why..?" Mireille finally decide to ask, her voice desperate. If her lover's mother did not accept their relationship, this would be a serious problem. A very frustrating one, also.

"Because.. I will not accept it for eternity, unless you make her really happy." The female vet added with a serious tone, yet a bit joking.

Mireille blinked, "That is.."

"Promise me," Doctor Naomi said seriously as she looked deeply to the blonde.

"I will," Mireille spontaneously replied.

"Good to hear." said Doctor Naomi. "I am not one to decide though. It's all up to Kirika." the female vet looked at the brunette.

Realizing that the attention was all focused to her, the Japanese girl just let out a small nod shyly.

"Thank you, Doctor," said the blonde, smiling in relief.

The oldest woman chuckled. "Don't be that formal. How about both of you go back home..? Seems like it's getting dark outside."

Regardless of the fact that a parent whose child hadn't married yet was supposed to live together, while the one Kirika had was living nearby, Doctor Naomi had kindly allowed the Japanese girl to just live freely anywhere she wanted to, which was the reason why the doctor offered them to go back home. Mireille smiled at her lover's mother, especially at how unselfish and understandable the doctor was, beside for her and the brunette's relationship.

The blonde glanced at Kirika, gesturing her to make the decision whether to go back home or not. The Japanese girl glanced at the female vet and replied with a small nod.

"Okay then.." Doctor Naomi smiled, stood up and led the two younger girls to the front door.

A few while passing the clinic's room, the three of them had arrived outside.

Mireille smiled and bowed deeply. "See you later, Doc."

"See you too, Mireille. Don't forget, two days to prepare."

"Yes."

Kirika then gave her mother a warm embrace as she whispered her goodbye, a usual thing between them now, as the mother and her child had become pretty close. A nice improvement from Kirika, Mireille recalled, that the Japanese girl had opened up herself to hug and showed affection towards a person.

With that short farewell, both Mireille and Kirika left the clinic, waving their hands on the way back to their apartment.

The couple decided to walk slowly on their way, relaxing their self in the scent of the cold and windy night, as their hands clutched to each other. They came out in a pretty late night and the sky was already dark, but there were still many couples passed the two of them, some of whom totally looked like shocked to see and realize the reason why Mireille and Kirika were holding hands in such romantic way. Pretty used to the unbelieving stare, the blonde ignored it completely and kept walking down the pavement with Kirika to reach their apartment.

"I'm glad you want to join.." Kirika's soft and melodious voice slowly reached the blonde's ears.

"I'm glad to be with you, too." Mireille smiled and caressed the brunette's cheek affectionately.

Kirika smiled in return to the blonde, as her cheeks turned even redder. The Japanese girl leaned herself closer to Mireille's left arm, now not afraid to hurt or touch the wound that was once there before as it had totally healed.

They kept each other tight, until the blonde unwillingly let go to unlock the apartment door. Afterwards, Mireille and Kirika took a bath together, and sneaked in bed right after, both covered themselves with the blanket first, before slowly snuggled to each other. It had been a habit now, to talk in bed rather than the tea table, as they simply could cuddle easily this way.

Being in bed together with her lovers and enjoyed to feel the heat and hear the slow breath rhythm of her, Mireille wouldn't even care for all crisis and problems in the world when they lied down close to each other, for the person was her dearest lovers. Both face turned to see each other, the two of them smiled in a romantic way. Gazing lovingly at the big brown orbs next to her while her arms slowly proceeded to circle the brunette's slim waist, Mireille opened up the conversation.

"We haven't packed yet, right..?" the blonde asked.

"Yes," the Japanese girl answered.

"Do you want to do it..?" Mireille tried to keep her voice as firm and serious as she can, despite her unwillingness to do what she herself offered.

"No," replied the brunette as she leaned closer to the blonde and reached Mireille's back with her hands. "Tomorrow.. will do."

"Okay." Mireille slowly moved her hands to the Japanese girl's back and pushed her to lean even closer and gave her a soft peck on the lips.

Blushed at the sudden action, the brunette asked in a low voice, "She said that.. we may not come back, Mireille."

"Yes.." the blonde replied weakly.

"You can't live in Japan.. forever..?" the brunette asked innocently, her eyes showed desire.

"Maybe.. I can. But it will take time."

"I want to.. be with you, Mireille."

"Don't you want to live.. with your family..?" the Corsican girl looked at her love incredulously. "I won't force you not to."

"..A little. " Kirika mumbled softly.

"So you prefer be with me.., my dearest love..?" Mireille grinned as she teased the brunette.

Kirika blushed and buried her face down at the blonde's body. "..Maybe." she grumbled in an unclear voice.

"Your mom can help, if you really want something, right..?" Mireille suggested as she brushed Kirika's curly brown hair. "She is.. pretty kind to us."

"Yes," the brunette yawned slightly.

"You're tired. Let's.. " Mireille looked at her lovers in her arms and found that the brunette had already fallen asleep. "..Sleep."

Smiling, the blonde hold the person she cherished the most firm in her arms and slowly closed her eyes peacefully.

-----------------

The next morning, wandering aimlessly in the living room I the apartment, Mireille felt bored as she had nothing to do after she fed Adeleine, due to her broken laptop which now was in progress of being repaired. Remembering how beautiful and innocent her lovers face was when she felt asleep last night, Mireille smiled. The Japanese girl was now also working, as today was her working day. Funny to think though, that such deadly assassin could live a life as a vet assistant. Neither Kirika nor Mireille complain a peaceful live they had, anyhow.

Mireille got to admit that she sometimes kind of missed her times of being an assassin together with Kirika. The feeling like dying by how tense and worse the situation had gotten sometimes, the encounter with total strangers, the secret identity they got to keep, and more else. But none of it could compare with the source of happiness the blonde felt in her heart when she saw the brunette looked like enjoying the peaceful life she had. That was why the blonde decided to just stop receiving request for assassination.

Occupied by her own thought of life, Mireille almost jumped when she heard a knocking sound at the door. Vigilance as always, the blonde took her gun and moved closer to the door. She was already prepared to turn the door's handle and pointed her gun when she heard the guest's voice.

"It's me. Open up," the voice calmly commanded.

Pretty annoyed and at the same time surprised, Mireille didn't answer and moved her hand from the door's handle. Suddenly she had a bad feeling that she knew who was standing behind the door.

"Can't you hurry..? This is me, Chloe."

Mireille hesitated at first but carefully opened up the door and pointed her gun right forward in the air later. As expected, a figure of green cloaked girl standing steadily flashed in her eyes. Pretty familiar with the purple haired kid, Mireille couldn't fail to notice some visible change of Chloe. The latter seemed to be thinner and paler, and a bit unhealthy as her eyes seemed darker and reflected great exhaustion rather than some chill cold stare she always had and used at Mireille.

Still pointing the gun to the younger girl, the Corsican girl couldn't help but snapped. "What do you want..? Still challenging me..? Sorry to refuse but you bette—"

"Please let me in first," Chloe asked calmly, completely ignoring the gun. Her eyes steadily stared at Mireille's.

_Please..? Since when has she learnt to use that word..??_

Pretty curious, the blonde said, "Only if you promise not to fight or hurt me. Or threatening me in any way you can."

Even a Chloe had her pride to say 'please', Mireille knew it.

The later nodded slowly.

Mireille lowered the gun and led the uninvited guest to the table. The blonde threw herself to the chair first, before motioned the green cloaked girl to do the same.

"Do you want some tea..?" Mireille offered.

"No thanks."

Silence. Mireille waited patiently for a word to be let out from the purple haired girl's lips. Ten minutes flew by as not a word came out from the younger one's lips since her last thanking words. Anybody who seen the awkwardness of the condition between the two of them must be laughing, at seeing how confused Mireille's face was and how desperate the purple haired kid looked like. Pretty bizarre.

_What the heck does she want to talk about..??!_

The blonde cleared her throat. "So.. What brings you here..?"

Chloe looked up and said, "You are leaving soon, right..?"

"How do you know..?" the blonde suddenly felt aware once again at how suspicious the kid in front of her was.

"I just know."

Being a mature lady as she already was, Mireille felt the urge to teach the purple haired kid some manner of speaking to someone older than herself. The blonde forget about it though, as her focus once again was drawn to Chloe's sentence.

"You must.." Chloe paused and looked deeply in the owner of the blue eyes. "take care of yourself."

"I have already." Mireille protested, puzzled at the heavy and serious tone the purple hair girl was using. "Why..?"

"I warn you," Chloe said seriously. "This may be an unexpected trip."

* * *

I'm sorry for the late update! Hope you like it, anyway.

Thank you for the reviews as always, vivi the demon goddess of fire, breaktherules , and shatin. I really appreciate it..!

Thanks for reading this far. Reviews are greatly welcome..


	12. Chapter 12

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself.**

Preparation days were over, and thoroughly today was Saturday, which meant the departure day to leave for Mireille, Kirika and Doctor Naomi. The three of them left early in the morning to the airport due to reach the first flight to Japan. Neither Mireille nor Kirika knew the reason why they were brought into such hurry to go to Japan, tough none of them willing to ask the person responsible for it, Dr. Naomi. Since that was the case, Mireille let herself thought that the female vet was an extraordinary morning person.

The plane they would be taking on was ready as soon as they arrived at the airport. Bringing the little luggage with them, Mireille, Kirika and Dr. Naomi got into the plane right away. Sat in the edge of the chair, as the one closest to the window was Mireille. Next to the blonde, now sitting mutely like a statue was the Japanese girl, while right after her was the oldest girl from the three, Doctor Naomi.

As the day was pretty early, none of them had gained the spirit to show their enthusiasm or rather, talked. The time when the plane took off, silence spread all over the flying machine's cabin as most passengers fall asleep, and few others talking politely, while many children from the back, full of spirit as they would always be, chattering loudly in their own language, some of whom the sound of laughter were disturbing enough to make anyone glanced in annoyance at least two times at them.

Mireille, being stuck in the corner of the seat, could not help but let her gaze fall at the blurry white scenery out of the window. As the blonde was not one to be practically amazed and worship nature to begin with, she could not help but felt bored immediately. Glanced to her lovers beside, Mireille smiled when she saw the Japanese girl's adorable face when sleeping. Looked further, she could also see Dr. Naomi's innocent face while sleeping soundly.

No matter how many times the blonde tried to sleep, it never worked out for her. Sighing at her lack of sleepiness, Mireille wiggled in her chair softly, trying to make herself comfortable, once again. The next moment, she felt her fingers were hold by a small, white cold hand. Mireille looked on her right just to see Kirika's eyes opened up, slowly looking back at her.

"Can't sleep..?" the brunette whispered softly.

Mireille smiled and placed her other hand above Kirika's, covering the brunette from the cool. "Uh huh.. Why did you wake up..?"

"..No reason.."

"Are you sure..? Are you cold..?" Mireille asked softly, as she was aware that her lovers' hand felt like spreading icy heat from an ice cube.

"No.." Kirika muttered. "I'm just thinking... to use your shoulder.." the Japanese girl whispered timidly.

Mireille chuckled. "You don't have to wake up for it, Kirika. Don't you usually ask more than my shoulder..?" the blonde asked in a naughty tone.

Kirika blushed madly and said nothing in return. Smiling, Mireille placed her hand on the Japanese girl's head and leaned it over to her shoulder. "Now rest."

With Kirika sleeping peacefully on her shoulder, and their hands clutched together tightly, the blonde slowly felt like able to sleep. Unfortunately, her mind refused and wandered to the source reason why she felt restless, even now, in the early of the morning. Slowly but clearly, her memory once again revealed and reflected every detail on her last conversation two days ago, with Chloe.

-------------------------------------

"Why did you say it like that..?" Mireille asked, confused.

"There's hardly anything you know. Don't you realize?" the purple haired announced calmly.

"Stop playing secret with me already! Can you?!" Mireille shouted, pretty annoyed.

"..Right." Chloe finally muttered.

"So, what is with this dangerous trip..?" asked the blonde, impatient.

"There will be someone threatening your life..and Kirika."

"That is usual." Mireille stated. "We are assassins."

"Soldats."

Hearing the name, Mireille's eyes widen. "What does it have to do with Soldats?" she asked sharply.

"..They want your life."

"And you're saying that they gonna do it the day we go to Japan..?"

".. something like that."

"Well.. The one that made me even more curious is.." Mireille paused. "Why, you're telling me this?" she emphasized the word 'you', and looked directly at the purple haired girl's eyes.

"I will always protect Kirika."

A brief silence stretched between them. Chloe's sentence simply did not straightly answer the question.

"..You haven't told me something important. Is that right..?" asked Mireille. "What is it you've been very enigmatic about? Enough with your hint act and words! I understand none of it."

"..That's true. I should have told you sooner." Chloe suddenly muttered softly, her voice pretty convincing that she felt like apologizing. "But.." her voice became cold again.

Mireille gave her a look of questioning, mixed with a little anger.

"You won't believe me." whispered Chloe, sighing.

"Try me."

Looked up to Mireille, Chloe focused her eyes on the blonde's big orbs. "First, one thing you must completely understand is that I'm doing this for Kirika. No one else."

Being pulled in a heavy silence once again, Mireille decided to give a small nod for answer.

"Since you and Kirika left the Manor. There were conflicts everywhere, especially among Soldats."

Mireille smiled slightly. It was true that since Kirika and her got over with the incident in the Manor, they decided to be free and worked once again as a normal assassins. They had showed Soldats the strong bond between them, and proved who the one that lost. Occasionally, they did get sudden attacks out of nowhere from Soldats, that for sure, but still, the two of them managed to survive.

Chloe continued. "They lost their precious hope, Kirika, and refused to give it up to you. Still until now. Don't you feel weird to not having someone attacking your back..?"

Mireille felt stupid for slightly shook her head.

"I guess not. Secretly, Soldats turned out a plan to kill you. They—"

"Wait." Mireille cut. "Won't you be involved in that plan..?"

"I will not do such thing. It will make Kirika sad.." Chloe's voice seemed like she was fall into her own world.

The blonde decided to shut her mouth and waited.

"Rather, I'm telling you what they may do." the purple haired girl's voice told that she was back to the reality world.

"Doesn't it make you.. a traitor? You're Altena's.. child." said Mireille, a bit cautious with her word.

"I'm doing this for Kirika, I told you before." Chloe replied coldly, and continued afterwards. "I myself don't know for sure what they will do exactly. But I do know that they will do it during your trip. And I warned you, don't underestimate their effort this time."

"Is their target.. only me..?"

"So far I know, yes."

"Why..?" the blonde asked in a complete mystify.

"I don't know. Kirika is more precious than you, you know."

Ignoring all annoying words from Chloe, Mireille decided to just end this silly conversation and said calmly, "Okay. Thanks for your cooperation."

"Actually.. There's one more thing."

"..What?"

-----------------------------

"Mireille.. Mireille." someone's voice and the shaking on her own shoulder woke the blonde's up. She did not realize that she was in fact had fell asleep, like everybody else did.

Mireille opened her eyes, and saw Kirika was smiling to her.

"Sorry to wake you up. But you must eat," the Japanese girl whispered softly. "It's already late for lunch."

"Oh.. Okay." the blonde mumbled, looking at the lunch pack in front of her, which definitely was not appealing. Sighing, Mireille took her spoon lazily.

"Bad dream..??" the brunette's voice echoed in the blonde's ears.

"..Hmm."

Either the mood or the food itself that was not right at the moment, Mireille thought the food did not feel the slightest bit tasty. She managed to eat almost all of it, though. Felt stiff on the leg, Mireille decided to relax her feet and walk around a bit. Even with the stiffness she felt almost all over her leg, her frustrated inner mind refused to leave unnoticeable by the blonde.

"I'll wander around. Do you want to come?" the blonde asked her lovers.

"Sure."

"Mind if we go for some minutes, Doctor..?" Mireille looked at Doctor Naomi, who still eating her meal.

"No. Go ahead," the female vet said, smiling.

Curing stiff legs would not be a difficult matter as the plane they were on in was huge enough. Despite cafés, lounges, bars, shops, and more else, there was still more other facility to see, or rather to walk to, in the plane. But killing the devastating feeling she was feeling would be a different matter.

Walking passed the seats, Mireille could see everyone was already lively. It was not that noises were everywhere, but at least, there were not that many people who slept like a rock, except children. As their destination was Japan, there were a lot of passengers looked like an Asian from their black hair, black brown skin, or rather, shinny skin.

"There are quite a lot Asian people, eh.." said Mireille.

"Yeah.."

The two of them walked slowly, and stopped at one of the café inside the plane. As Mireille threw herself at one of its chair, Kirika followed and did the same, placing herself right beside the blonde.

"How do you feel..?" the blonde asked. "Going back to your hometown?"

"Hmm.. So so."

Mireille smiled and looked at the Japanese girl's brown orbs seriously. "Actually, Kirika. There's something I want to talk to you."

The brunette replied the gaze she was given softly. "What is it, Mireille?"

"Well.. Once when you were working, Chloe came to the apartment. She told me that on this trip to Japan.. there will be enemies. Soldats." the Corsican girl tried to keep her voice as calm as she could.

Kirika replied nothing and kept impassive.

"She said not to underestimate them."

The Japanese girl nodded slowly. "Is it possible even in the plane..?"

"..Yes."

"That means.. Doctor Naomi is.. in danger, right?" Kirika suddenly strengthen her gaze and asked in a tone that reflected a bit anger. "Why don't you tell me sooner, Mireille..? Maybe.. We could just delay this plan. We cannot bring her to our problems. We must g—"

"..Wait." answered the blonde weakly. She had already known and also, feared that the brunette would be mad at her. "I'm sorry. It's just.." the blonde stopped talking, not knowing what to say.

_What should I tell her..??_

"..What is it, Mireille..?" Kirika asked, her tone showed clear impatient. The brunette was already standing, ready to run at her seat.

"..Are you.. mad?" the blonde asked in a low voice.

Realizing that she had caused Mireille fear from the way the blonde talked to her, Kirika suddenly felt regret. "No, Mireille. I'm just.. upset." she said softly, her eyes slowly softened from the way she looked at her lovers before. "You better.. promise me not to go on at something without telling me first."

The blonde heaved a sigh of relief. "I won't, I promise. There is a reason why I did it, Kirika. And, you can relax. Doctor Naomi won't be.. in danger."

----------------------------

"Okay. Thanks for your cooperation."

"Actually.. There's one more thing."

"What?"

"...You got to be extremely careful.." Chloe stopped talking for a second. "There is a saying that said, 'Your enemy may be right in front of your eyes'.."

"Chloe. Please stop talking way over longer the topic. Just tell me."

"...Well.."

Tough it was definitely rare and at the same time weird, to see and hear Chloe mumbled, Mireille decided to care not about it.

"What?!" Mireille asked, totally curious now.

"Soldats member.."

Mireille raised her eyebrows and stared at the purple haired girl, motioning her to quicken.

"..that Naomi is one of them."

_What?!_

As if it was the first time to even hear some words, Mireille's mind went blank. Had the purple haired girl told her sooner when she herself doubted the female vet, she would trust her right away. But now, being a kind, generous woman, an understandable mother, Mireille no longer felt that kind of impression for Doctor Naomi.

Long silence hung between them, as Mireille stared at Chloe in complete disbelief, while the latter's expression was generally.. cold. Not knowing who to trust anymore, the blonde sank in great confusion of her self-thought.

"That's.. nonsense." Mireille finally let out some words out of her lips. "Doctor Naomi?"

Chloe sighed. "I should have killed her at that time.."

"What time?" Mireille snapped abruptly.

"..The time before I returned that fat cat."

"You are.. crazy. If she is really Soldats, then she must be your companion, isn't she?"

"I told you, everything for Kirika." Chloe said coldly, bored.

"So.. her description of being Kirika's mother… is all fake?"

Chloe gazed sharply at Mireille, then answered, "You believe in people too easily."

Once again Mireille felt the urge to grab the purple haired kid and swung her around like a lasso, then let it go from the highest floor of her apartment. Chloe sure had regained her mean and cold attitude, after releasing the information she kept long to Mireille.

"Wait a minute.. be a Soldats member doesn't mean that she is bad.." muttered the blonde. "Right..?"

"..You can judge yourself. From my point, she sure is the key point to annihilate you."

"What advantage does she have to disguise as Kirika's mother, if that's true..?"

"I don't know. But one thing, she succeeded to make you trust her enough."

"Huh? Then why are you telling me this just now..? Not when we—"

Mireille's word was stuck as she saw Chloe was glaring at her. "I risk my life just to tell you that. Now."

"..Oh." mumbled the blonde, regretting her stupid words. She must be careless to forget that Chloe was Altena's dearest child. "..sorry and.. thanks."

"It's your own business, your safety. All I have to do is take care of Kirika. I hope you do the best." Chloe stood up. "That's all, now—"

"Wait! Doctor Naomi has all photos of Kirika's childhood, birth certificate, and others! I saw it myself..!"

"It is all.. fake." Chloe stated.

"How?!" the blonde asked loudly, felt left behind.

"..Technology."

"Her face!" Mireille almost exclaimed in frustration. "What could you say? She..—" the light of dubious from blonde's eyes slowly faded. She kind of expected the answer.

"Surgery. What else?"

".. The old family.. history..?" Mireille asked slowly, not really wanted to know the answer.

"It's all fake. I told you. She made it all up."

Mireille was left wordless. Her instinct suddenly told her that there was high possibility that the female vet was not Kirika's mother. But, looking back at Chloe's background as Altena's favourite daughter, and her own dislike at the purple haired girl.. she doubted it, just a little, though. From the situation, Chloe got the point which made it unbelievably likely to be true. But, another possibility was if all the arrogant kid was also a lie, and she planned something. Which one was it..?

_I don't know what to say.. nor to do.. Whom should I believe in..? Fortunately this is me.. what if Kirika is the one hearing it..?_

And, where will Kirika be brought to, if the old family is nothing but fake..?

--------------------------

A few minute her mind's traveling through the conversation she had with Chloe made Mireille's brain boiling. So many questions unanswered. The blonde did not let her wandering thought took the best of her this time, as she was now facing her lovers, who still did not know anything.

"Kirika.. Do you trust Chloe?"

The latter nodded slowly for the reply and slowly took a sit beside the blonde.

"What about.. Doctor Naomi? You trust her..?"

"..Yes. Why?"

_She trusts almost everybody nice to her, for crying out loud..!_

"You know.. the saying that your enemy may be right in front of you..?" Mireille aware that she copied Chloe's way of explaining, but for now she cared not about it, as it seemed to be the best solution for this thing she must tell, after all.

"Yes."

"That means Soldats are everywhere, right?"

".. True."

"What if.. we are now trapped in Soldats' plan..?"

_Partly my fault, it is.. I don't understand how I still agree to join this trip, after hearing all that.._

"..What do you mean, Mireille..?"

The blonde hesitated. "What if.. Just if.. A possibility.. high possibility.. no. not really high. It's—"

Mireille's hand started to shake a little, her heart pounded very hard, her feet and palms felt cold, her skin felt sweaty. Almost all her organs betrayed her to look calm in front the Japanese girl.

"Mireille? Are you okay.,?" the brunette asked, confused.

"I'm okay." the blonde answered quickly. "Kirika. What if.. I'm telling you that.." she paused and gulped. "that.. Chloe said, Doctor Naomi is Soldats..?"

Finally letting out what troubling her mind, the blonde felt a little more relax, but at the same time nervous to face what would happen afterwards.

To Mireille's surprise, Kirika still wore her usual calm expression, not looked like surprise at all, despite her widen eyes. Minutes passed, and Kirika had replied nothing to the blonde.

Seeing that her lovers' eyes reflected deep confusion and sadness, Mireille took one of her lovers hand and gently squeezed it. "Kirika..? You okay..?"

Yet still not a word came out from the Japanese girl.

Mireille caressed the brunette's cheek. "It's just.. what Chloe said. I'm not too sure about it, too." encouraged the blonde softly. "..Kirika.."

Still no answer, but the blonde could see her lover's eyes became a bit teary.

..Don't tell me she already knows about it..

"Kirika.. Do you.. already know..?"

"..No." the brunette finally whispered weakly, clearly in the verge of tears.

Knowing that her lovers was pretty close to cry, Mireille hugged the brunette right in time before the Japanese girls shaking shoulder broke into pieces of fallen tears.

"Kirika.." Mireille gently stroked the brunette's brown hair. "You.. believe it, don't you..?"

A few minutes of soft sobbing, the brunette managed to say a simple, "..Yes."

"..It must... hurt.." mumbled the blonde.

"..Very." Kirika sobbed and continued. "I.. don't know why.." the Japanese girl once again cried a little louder.

"Shh.. Calm, Kirika.."

"The moment.. you told me.. I knew it.." the brunette whispered in the middle of her cry.

Admitted Kirika's innate sixth sense, Mireille could not help but felt like more and more certain that Doctor Naomi was not the Japanese girl's mother. Though she did not expect the brunette to just believe it right away.

_Could it be.. that she already feels something about it..? _

Mireille was about to ask her lovers about what she really felt to Doctor Naomi as mother before, but was delayed by Kirika's whisper.

"..Maybe.. I really shouldn't have or hope for parents.. Even for a single mother."

Kirika's pronunciation of the word 'mother' was very desperate, it made Mireille felt regret to ever tell her. Sank into deep agony and sadness, the two of them fall and snuggled into each other embrace, not realizing how time had passed.

"Don't say that, Kirika.."

And how there was already someone watching them from the beginning.

* * *

Thank you for all that gave me reviews, vivi the demon goddess of fire, and masu1212, I really appreciate it..!!

Please read, and tell me what you think, review if you can..! Thanks for reading..


	13. Chapter 13

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself.**

Mireille did not care how long had she and Kirika been in the café, sitting and now, crying. She ignored all the questioning looks the other passengers were giving them in a glimpse.

All she could hear was her lovers' silent cry, for it drove the sad tear lullaby into her ears, slowly warming up the feeling of hatred down in her heart, pushing the need of vengeance roaring wildly in her soul, forcing her to even more despise her forever enemy, Soldats. Blinded by all devils' heart, the only thing flashed to her eyes was Kirika's shaking shoulder while crying in her arms, face buried in her chest.

The only matter she could care to bother was the Japanese girl's pain, and how in the world could she ease it just a little, other and besides holding her body tightly, hugging her, stroking her back gently. How Mireille felt that she could kill herself now, only because she was the one bringing the horrific news to the brunette.

How she wanted to torture anyone responsible and dared to bring such pain to her lovers. She could feel her own hands trembling as she felt like dying to shoot dead that person. She wanted to kill Doctor Naomi. So badly she could feel her jaw tighten hardly.

But the truth she did not do it, or rather, had not. Mireille sighed, knowing that she actually couldn't do that. The thing that stopped her to do so was the little doubt in her heart, whether the female was truly the brunette's mother or not. No one knew what kind of guiltiness to feel, or redemption that she must asked, if the issue was also a lie. Another reason, the most important reason of the two, why she did not pull out her gun right away and rushed towards the female doctor was Kirika's feeling. Mireille knew that the Japanese girl would not yet allow anybody to kill her _mother_, regardless of how vague and unclear the situation was now.

Minutes passed quickly as Kirika spent all the time crying on the blonde's shoulder in almost flawless silent, despite her shaking body.

"Kirika.. Sshh.. Calm down.." soothed Mireille, tapping Kirika's back gently.

A while after, the Japanese girl whose brown eyes had become teary from before and all red, slowly regaining her calm. Few more soothing taps from Mireille, and finally Kirika drew her body out of her lovers' embrace, and now looked up at the blonde.

"..I'm sorry." Kirika whispered softly in a low voice. "Made your clothes all wet.."

It was now that Mireille looked at her clothes and realized how wet it had become. She smiled inwardly. Despite her silent cry, Kirika sure let out huge amount of tears.

Mireille asked softly, "Do you feel much better now..?"

Kirika nodded in silence. Mireille smiled in return. Then, the two trapped in silence, both just gazing onto each other eyes.

_What should we do now.. It's almost out of question to kill that damn Naomi..! _

Almost if their eyes were talking, Kirika whispered weakly, "Is there any other way.. beside kill her..?"

"..I don't know." the blonde answered honestly. "She sure is dangerous. But.." Mireille paused. "I.. have a little doubt that she isn't your mother, Kirika. Just a little."

To Mireille surprise, Kirika smiled at her. "So do I." she said. "Or rather Mireille.. I hope it is the truth."

"Kirika.." Mireille lowered her head. "I'm really sorry for not telling you quicker. Now we are trapped, if Naomi really isn't your mother. To tell you the truth, I was very shocked back then I couldn't make a plan."

"Don't worry Mireille." said Kirika, her hands gently caressed the blonde's left cheek. "As long as we are together.. we can face anything. Together."

The brunette's tone was so serious but at the same time comforting, it made Mireille looked up and smiled then let herself leaned over to hold her lovers in her arms. "Sorry. And.. thank you Kirika. I'm the one who supposed to cheer you up, aren't I..?"

The Japanese girl nodded in spirit, showing her agreement.

"So.. What do you think we can do..? Say that.. Doctor Naomi is Soldats."

"We.. can't do anything.Yet."

"..The reason?" asked Mireille.

"We are in a plane. It is.. risky. And involved people." claimed the Japanese girl.

Mireille nodded, as she actually had guessed about it. They were assassins, but not one without heart. Had they were one without affection and feeling, they would never feel love, much rather become lovers. When the case was one with innocent people had high possibility to be involved, both Mireille and Kirika would treat and thought about the progress carefully.

It was different matter with Soldats tough, especially for the blonde.

_I hope they won't attack first. _

"..Right. One more thing, Kirika." Mireille let go of the embrace softly. "Will we act like we don't know anything..? I've tried my best to act like it today."

"..Maybe." the brunette answered in a low voice.

Realizing the sadness in her lovers tone, Mireille felt like her heart was suddenly stabbed by million knifes. "Well.. I guess we would better just do whatever safe for now."

_Once we arrived in Japan, the truth will speak itself. But still, no guarantee of how dangerous it may be._

With that, both Mireille and Kirika head back to their seat in a complete disguise of their scattered feeling. It was kind of fortunate that they found Doctor Naomi was sleeping soundly in her seat so the blonde would not have to smile whole heartedly and ridiculously at the female vet all along.

Killing all heavy pressure she felt due to the need of acting innocent later, again, Mireille forced herself to relax and sleep. Kirika, on the other hand surprised her by fall asleep right away. Judgind from this, Mireille assumed that their act was pretty convincing so far to show that nothing had changed things between them and Doctor Naomi.

Felt that she was too stressed to sleep, Mireille stole a glance at the female vet's face. Blue eyes met the vision of some old, wise, innocent face sleeping.

_Is she really.. Soldats..?_

In the middle of her thought, Mireille abruptly felt that the air became kind of eerie and causing chill ran down her spine. Aware of the possibility of being attacked, the blonde stole a glance at every corner of the plane, quickly analyzing the situation. Everytime she heard or felt anything that brought her an ominous feeling, she spontaneously touched and hold her gun. Minutes in extreme cautious, Mireille almost jumped when she suddenly heard the speaker boomed out the voice of the air plane's captain, telling them that they would land in ten minutes.

_Ten minutes..? How long have I been awake, then.. _

Mireille unconsciously yawned and sighed in exhaustion.

Twenty five minutes later, Mireille, Kirika and Doctor Naomi had walked out of the plane, now inside the airport hall. The blonde yawned once again, rather than looking in excitement of being in Japan like other tourists did. Despite her tired and lazy physical look, and jet lag, the Corsican girl still watched every move Doctor Naomi made, from the corner of her eyes. She was ready anytime if there would be an assault, not to mention how sleepy she actually was.

"We're back..!" Doctor Naomi stated happily as the three of them walked. "How I miss this country..! Kirika.. This is our hometown..!"

Kirika nodded obediently as an answer.

"Oh.. Let's pick up the luggage, girls." said the female vet, smiling.

"Mireille. You looked.. tired." Kirika said as they stepped out of the crowd to take their belongings. Worried, she touched the blonde's hand and squeezed it softly.

"Uh.. Yes." mumbled Mireille. She didn't want to admit it, but she really was out of energy.

_How can I sleep peacefully.. It amazed me that that damn Naomi slept like a rock..!! _

"I rest almost all the time." Dr. Naomi suddenly joined their small conversation cheerfully, as she took her bag. "You should have done it too, Mireille."

"..Yeah."

_Who caused it to me in first place..?!?! _

As soon as the three of them finished with picking up the luggage, Mireille obediently followed Dr. Naomi and Kirika, while yawned all over. All the blonde wanted was to lie down in a soft place and rest her sleepy head.

"Mireille, have you got an apartment..?" asked Doctor Naomi.

"..Yes." answered the Corsican girl lazily. Lazy she would seem, but her instinct and mind still kept the best part of her consciousness awake to protect Kirika.

"Oh, really..?"

The blonde nodded slowly. A friend of hers had offered an apartment somewhere in Japan, which she took right away, regardless of what condition the apartment was in, as she was in confusion and fully occupied by the issue of Dr. Naomi. The only thing she remembered was that the apartment had enough beds for a full family. That one meant that she could share it together with Kirika.

Kirika.

Something's bothering her mind. Mireille forced her sleepy brain's engine to work and think. When she came to realize what exactly that bothering her mind, the blonde's blue eyes opened up wider.

_Wait! Do I have to be separated from her now..?! _

As the blonde was about to ask her question, she heard the female vet asked softly, "How about we spend one night at your place, Mireille..?"

"..Eh? What about your family, Doctor..?" retorted Mireille, once again became cautious. "Won't anybody.. come to pick you up..?" Her hand slowly reached her hidden gun in her pocket.

_There's no such thing as old secret and oh so cool bodyguard family, admit it..!!_

"No. We have to travel ourselves to go to the family house. But, it's too far for us to reach it today. We all tired and got jet lag, and it's already night." said Doctor Naomi calmly. "Mireille, do you mind if.. we stay..?"

"No. Not at all."

The female vet smiled in appreciation. "Let's take a cab, then. You have the address..?"

------------------

One hour traveling with the taxi, the three of them finally arrived at the destination. As soon as they got out from the cab, Mireille rushed towards in and set all of administration and payment needed. Then, the three of them brought all luggage upstairs to the blonde's new room.

Mireille unlocked the door quickly and marched in. The room, which painted in cream colour, was quite nice and modern, and huge enough even for three person. There was a sofa, magnificent window, a big flat TV hanging on the wall, kitchen, three rooms, and two bathrooms, as far as the blonde was concern.

Mireille was tired and sleepy as hell, but she knew that she could not let Kirika's safety be neglected. Fortunately, her senses generously still worked to avoid her from sleeping right away. Being well experienced at killing people, the Corsican girl knew that one of the best time to attack her, of all condition, was now, at night. Tonight. When she and Kirika felt sleepy and a bit unhealthy from jet lag.

She looked at Doctor Naomi, who was somehow fascinated by the kitchen and busy looking around the apartment. No sign of sudden attack from her at all. A feeling of doubt once again flowing inside the blonde's heart. No need to tell what caused it.

"Mireille.."

Hearing the soft voice calling her name, the blonde turned her back and saw her dearest friend was looking at her. "What is it, Kirika?"

"Why don't you.. go to sleep?" asked the Japanese girl. "You are tired.."

The blonde couldn't help but smile. "Ah. I'm okay."

_Who knows what will Naomi or anyone do when I'm sleeping..?_

Kirika, hearing her lovers answer moved closer, approaching the blonde. "Mireille.. You're tired." she touched Mireille's hand. "Go to bed. We're okay." she whispered in a very low voice.

"I—"  
"Just sleep, Mireille."

Ignoring how pushy the Japanese girl was, Mireille narrowed her eyes slightly, showing her determination. "..We must watch her, Kirika." the blonde whispered softly, only to be heard by Kirika. She looked at the female vet to ensure the safe distance between them and added, "She or any Soldats may attack anytime. And it's possible that they'll do it tonight."

_If only I have thought of a plan.. Kirika won't suffer and I will have a better prediction of how Soldats will really act. _

The next moment, a sad expression of Kirika flashed on Mireille's blue orbs. The brunette seemed to loose her firm gaze, as her eyes stared in blank, utterly spacing out.

Mireille waved her hands upon the Japanese girl's head. "Kirika..? Kirika!"

The Japanese girl's eyes widen, startled. "Sorry, Mireille.."

The blonde heaved out a long sigh. Had Doctor Naomi not become this close with Kirika, the brunette would not have to feel such burden to trust Chloe's word, and her own feeling. _It's painful for her to watch over Naomi. She still.. trusts her._

Mireille lengthen her arms and pulled the brunette's small feature to her, embracing her into a caressing hug. "..Don't ever come to any preposterous conclusion and somehow blame yourself."

The Japanese girl squeaked but said nothing and leaned deeper into the blonde's body.

They remained in same position, holding tight to each other in silence for a while, both enjoying the soft scene and existence of their partners.

"You know.. I may fall asleep right now with you be my pillow forever." teased Mireille.

The brunette blushed shyly and remained quiet, as the blonde looked in amusement at her. Then, Mireille yawned once again, made the Japanese girl looked up at her, her cheeks still flushing in crimson.

"I can watch her.. for you." whispered Kirika. "So you can sleep, Mireille."

Mireille raised her eyebrows. "..Are you sure? Aren't you tired as well?"

"Yes. Leave it to me."

Amusingly tempted by the offer, the blonde smiled at the Japanese girl. Mireille leaned over and quickly gave Kirika a peck on the lips, causing the brunette's tensed slightly and even blushed more furiously at the sudden action. "Thank you. Be careful, will you? Oh, and wake me up when you are tired and sleepy. We'll change."

The latter nodded slowly as a reply.

Then, Mireille walked towards the female vet, ignoring the haunted and creepy feeling she had since in the airplane, more overly, her doubting feeling towards the oldest woman of the three.

"Doctor Naomi, I will take a rest in that room." Mireille pointed at one room at her right. "You can wake me up if something happens."

"Okay." she said smiling, still paying her full attention at the kitchen. "Goodnight."

"..Goodnight, Doctor."

---------------------------------------

The sun had rise, a sign to mark the beginning of the day, the time when morning persons used to wake up. In that case, Mireille was one of them, as she woke up first the following morning. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around in her bed, tried to remember why she was here, and why she felt unfamiliar with the air she breathed in the room right now. And why Kirika was not sleeping beside her.

Once she remembered, which pretty fast, she jumped out of the bed and rushed to take her gun. Out of vigilance, she knew, but she must be cautious anytime. She opened her bedroom door, and stepped in the living room, both hands holding her gun. Yet there was no one nor anything suspicious in her apartment. No broken windows, battered doors, or scattered glasses.

That meant there was no invasion last night. Sighing in relief, Mireille hoped inwardly that everything was as alright as it seemed to be. She recalled that no one woke her up last night, either Kirika or any strange sound. She desperately hoped and prayed in her mind that the Japanese girl did have a good reason for not doing it.

There were three other rooms beside the one she used to sleep in. Her eyes wandered quickly through the room and found two doors near where she stood were closed.

The blonde run without noise and stopped at the first nearest door. She opened it up slowly, and stole a peek at the sight of Doctor Naomi lied wildly in her bed. The female vet sure looked like she was having a weird dream, as her hands were punching the air. Mireille almost laughed when she saw it. She closed the door without sound, and headed to the other door.

The door was unlocked. Mireille opened it slowly, and smiled as she found her lovers laying in bed peacefully, hugging the pillows with both her tiny arms.

_Thanks God she's okay.. _

The scene somehow was so amusing it made the Corsican girl lowered her gun and unconsciously stood grinning afterwards, without moving. Then, Mireille turned her back and marched to the window, decided that she didn't have the heart to wake Kirika up just now. She looked outside, down at the road, noticing that the apartment room she stayed in was quite high on the floor to see people looked like ants in a crowd.

_We're in Japan, eh? So far there's nothing happened.._

Mireille sighed once again as she watched the sky. Suddenly, she felt her ears spotted something. Her body tensed as she realized someone's footstep. Instinctively, the blonde sensed danger and turned her back quickly while pulled out her gun.

The blonde gasped at the sight. She saw Doctor Naomi pointed a gun right at her. Had the looks of the doctor's eyes were the same as usual, the blonde could still only guess that Doctor Naomi was kidding and just playing with gun around. But unfortunately, the look of the person staring at her right now was freezing cold. Not the usual happy, friendly and cheerful look.

"Morning, Mireille." Doctor Naomi greeted Mireille, her smile turned somewhat sadistic it reminded the blonde of some cool-blooded killer.

"You.." was all the Corsican girl could say as she was too shocked and surprised. She was sure that she saw the doctor was still sleeping back then.

"Nice to meet you in the morning." the female vet whispered coldly in a low voice.

The blonde felt a sweat dropped from her forehead.

_I'm too careless. She's really dangerous. She got behind me once more._

Mireille didn't move, and so did Doctor Naomi. As the distance between them was no more than two meters it was easy to just pull out the trigger right away, tough none of them considering to do so yet, and rather looking at each other sharply.

"So you really are Soldats, huh?" asked Mireille roughly. "Where are your other companions? I don't see them."

Doctor Naomi laughed disgustingly. "Companions? I don't feel the need of them right now."

_What is she planning to do? _

Mireille narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "We can settle this without harming each other." she stated calmly, tough she herself was not sure that she wanted to do what she just said.

_I have to make noises so Kirika will wake up._

"Oh..? You think so?" Doctor Naomi said patronizingly. "What if I don't want to?"

"..I really misjudged you." retorted the blonde, now grasped her gun very tightly.

The next action happened very fast. Doctor Naomi pulled out the trigger and launched one bullet right at the Corsican girl. The blonde was very lucky she could dodge the first attack, as she rolled over to her right, now run to Kirika's bedroom. Right before she rushed in the bedroom, another shot was directed at Mireille's back. Once again it was neatly dodged as the door was then slammed over to another side by the blonde, blocking the attack for sometime.

Mireille tapped and shook the Japanese girl's body fiercely, hoping the latter to quickly get conscious. Too bad, Doctor Naomi was already standing inside the room and shot her again. This time the bullet flew directly deep at Mireille's left arm as the blonde was late to dodge. Ignoring the wound that reopened in her left arm thanks to the shot, Mireille jumped at the other side of the bed, while shot twice at the fake vet.

Mireille shook the bed furiously with her right arms during the silence time. It gave no effect, as not even a move was made by her lovers. The Japanese girl still sleeping despite all effort the blonde had tried in the urgent situation.

"She won't wake up." Doctor Naomi said mockingly. Her voice was vaguely audible as she also hided herself behind the door.

A wave of worry slipped upon her heart. From the steady breath the brunette did, Mireille knew that her love was not dead. But realizing that Kirika did really not wake up, Mireille found herself frustrated and feared something horrible was done to the Japanese girl.

_What did she do to her? And how did she do it, for goodness sake?!_

Mireille used the opportunity gap she found to shoot the female Soldats again. The fake female vet, a bit startled as she seemed to be, shot back at the blonde after dodging the third bullet directed at her.

_She doesn't shoot Kirika. That's good. _

Mireille was aware of the feeling of pain that stink in her left arm. Fresh blood could be seen now flowing out from the wound. She had lost a pretty good amount of blood.

_I must kill her. Now. _

As Doctor Naomi shot more just then and more precisely, the blonde carefully laid her body until her head could kiss the floor. She knew she had a handy knife somewhere in her dress. Mireille found it and smiled.

_I'll only get one chance to do this._

The Corsican girl waited for some seconds, before made an opening by shoot at the female Soldats. The older woman jumped back slightly at the sudden attack, one reaction Mireille exactly needed. The blonde stood up and jumped while threw her knife right at Doctor Naomi's chest. Pretty knowledgeable by how to throw knife thanks to Chloe, the knife somehow stabbed right in.

The fake doctor cried in agony, and fall on the floor, hands trying to pull out the knife. Deep hatred filled her head, mind, and body, Mireille shot once again at the woman's upper breast. Losing her breath due to the strict situation, the blonde dropped herself to the floor.

_That will be enough. _

The defeated female Soldats used her left hand to crawl, trying to shoot Mireille one more time with all her might. Unfortunately she stopped moving right before she pulled out the trigger. Mireille, unusually trembling, glanced at the fake vet, then at her lovers who still sleeping in her comfortable bed.

_I'm sorry, Kirika. _

Mireille did not get the chance to laugh over the fake doctor's dead, as she realized plenty footsteps were coming through her direction. The gun's booming sound was not something you could miss to notice, after all. There was possibility that the owner of anyone responsible in this building would come over and gave her a curios visit. Still holding her gun in both her hands, the blonde stood up, and stepped over the female Soldats body, now walking to the front door.

The blonde's eyes widen in mix of fear and exasperation as she spotted something strange. It was too silence. Just then, she could hear silence whisper of people and sound of rushing footsteps outside her apartment's door. That would not be a friend, she knew.

_She said she didn't need comrades. _

Mireille was about to hide herself and rushed right into Kirika's room, but failed miserably for her head was suddenly hit by something hard just when she turned around.

The act made her felt dizzy, but her strength was still enough to looked up and saw who did it to her. Then, the blonde felt the same hard thing was punched at her face, causing blood jerked out fiercely from her lips.

_No way.._

Mireille couldn't resist the feeling that her head was spinning around and made everything beyond her vision was blurry. She spotted her enemy from the corner of her eye. Naomi.

"Don't think you can kill me so easily." was the last words Mireille could hear before she sank deep in a hole of blackness.

* * *

Another chapter..!! Thanks to all of you that have read this far..! 

Many many thanks to they who gave me reviews.. vivi the demon goddess of fire, and masu1212..!

Please review if you can..!


	14. Chapter 14

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself**

The air was humid and heavy, it smelled like tobacco. The room was dark enough it made one felt blinded for a moment. There was neither sound nor living being disturbed a sense. Everything was dead quiet.

It took Mireille a while to identify that she was sitting on a chair, hands both pulled tight at her back, while her damp feet laid weakly, strapped on the chair. Her kidnapper showed neither condolence nor sympathy to her, as her wounded left arms pushed ignorantly and carelessly by them, leaving full agony on her side, as it was not even treated at all.

Slowly, the Corsican girl opened her eyes and shifted her position. The blonde inhaled a large amount of air, and vividly smelled some carpenters job, before she adapted her eyes to the darkness. The only part of her body which was free to move was her eyes, and her mouth. It could be consider a fortune that anyone trapped her here decided not to blindfold her. Judging from the condition she was in, she knew that it would be such a waste of strength if she shouted for help. The room looked too large.

With the help of the orange light traces from the window beneath her, Mireille could finally catch a hint of where the hell she was. Few blink of consciousness, her eyes now wildly wandered through the black room.

Piles of square things like boxes were tugged at every corner, captivating her vision completely. Wherever she looked, those boxes were somehow visible. Other things beside the boxes in the room were some kind of old machines, one placed right beside her, while the other in front of her, both blanketed by dark cotton. Boxes, machines, and even the tiles below looked old and dusty. More likely, she was trapped in a storeroom or a cellar.

Mireille jerked out in surprise from her position as she heard a loud bang from the left corner of her room, pretty far from where she was. Light came in, and the sound of slammed door gave her ominous feeling, much worst the loud chattering of people. She felt her body tensed at the time. The perpetrator of her pitiful condition would show their self.

Plenty footsteps coming, and Mireille guessed that there were about three persons jolted at her way. One of them, with no doubt was Naomi from the crisp, light, friendly voice Mireille heard the fake vet's using on her way.

The blonde gritted her teeth. Hearing the voice once again had turned on her anger, her grudge. She remembered her huge mistake, her careless act. The consequences of being so, without doubt was pretty terrifying this time. Instead of worrying about the group approaching slowly toward her like before, the blonde felt more worried about her precious partner now, Kirika. She remembered that the Japanese girl was already unconscious unreasonably the last time she saw her.

_Kirika.. Is she alright?_

Her thought was disturbed as she could see the group of three had now slipped themselves between the figures of machines and boxes near her. Their careful act to not slack off with those things made the blonde wondered what actually was inside those big boxes.

She watched them as they made their way toward her. The first person she saw was Doctor Naomi, as the fake vet halted right in front of Mireille. As usual, the fake vet greeted the blonde happily, a wide smile hung on her face. The female Soldats' brown eyes twinkling in excitement as she looked down at Mireille, her face clearly showed the look of someone scorning.

Mireille watched Naomi's spoiled face and made her eyes looked at the female Soldats' upper body. She was surprised to see the fake vet looked completely healed from the wound the blonde's made before, and healthy as well. Naomi, noticing the attention the Corscan girl was giving at her, raised one of her eyebrows in such proud way it made the blonde despised her even more.

Naomi whispered in sarcasm, "Too bad you couldn't kill me back then."

Mireille's eyes widen slightly. She never heard the fake vet talked in a very arrogant way like now.

_She's different._

Mireille scowled at the female Soldats coldly and shut her mouth. Therefore, in silence she could hear the other persons' chat slowly faded as they approached their destination. Two men, both dressed in formal black suits glanced briefly at each other, and quicken their pace. One men set their position on Mireille's left, while the other on the right. The three of them, including Naomi were now half-circling her, cornering her.

The blonde did not recognize the two men as soon as their faces were visible. From the way they looked at Naomi, the blonde somehow knew right away that they were in a lower position than the fake vet. The female Soldats surely had gained some status of honor, whatever it was.

_Who is she? _

Keeping her cold stare only at the one woman in the group, Mireille found her body shaking harshly as her body fighting to resist her killer instinct. From the way the trio looked at her in satisfaction, she could not help but desired to rip them out from their skin and quickly shot them to death, despite how powerless she was already and her helpless condition now.

Afterwards, instead of jerking out and made some opposing move to Naomi, the blonde felt the very same aching pain from her left arm. She needed to calm down. The more she moved, the worst the pain felt.

Her feet felt stiff, her arms felt sore. And to make matters worse, her wounded arm seemed like almost in its way to stop functioning properly. Even without looking, she knew that there was high possibility of infection of her left arm as it had not been cleaned even the slightest bit.

"Well, well.." cooed Naomi, laughing. "How do you like your new apartment, Mireille?" she mocked, her voice intimidating.

"What are we gonna do with her..?" the fatter one of the two men, with a bald head and shorter posture asked abruptly, his voice calm and heavy.

"Why don't kill her right away?" the other man, looked older with his messy gray hair and thick moustache snapped nervously, his hand pointed its way at Mireille. "She's dangerous. She may kill us anytime she got the chance."

"That is indeed true." said Naomi, throwing her glance at her two companions. "But, she will never get the chance to kill us. And do not forget that we need her. I suppose you remember why, guys?"

The bald headed man nodded animatedly, his face showed some understanding. On the other hand, to Mireille's surprise, the older one of the man looked sharply in disgust and hatred at her. Then, he snorted loudly, clearly showing his disagreement.

Mireille looked curiously at the man. She didn't even recognize his old face, but the man now glaring furiously at her, as if holding somewhat feeling. Confused, the blonde did not get the chance to think as the matter became clear right after the man spoke audibly.

He said, "Don't ever think I will ever, ever, forgive you."

_Forgive me? _

"Frachis, please. Calm down yourself." whispered Naomi. "Now is not the time for your personal problem."

"But she killed my son! My glorious son! How in hell could I forgive that?! YOU—"

_And how in hell could I remember or know which man I killed was 'your' son? _

"Franchis!" Naomi stared coldly at the angry man. "I will ask you to leave if you continue."

Franchis stepped back unconsciously, and looked down to her knees. "I'm sorry, Madam. I lost my control."

_..Madam?_

"I understand." said Naomi calmly, then glanced back at Mireille.

"..Where's Kirika, you bitch..?!" Mireille asked in a low voice, hatred shown in her tone.

"Kirika? Oh.. Poor Kirika." Naomi laughed, her mood had astoundingly changed. "Who knows where she is..? Silly Kirika.."

Mireille's glare grew even sharper, her fists clenched and shaking in great fury. She realized that this was all she could do to express her anger. She could not launch an opposing attack or anything physical at all in the state she was in.

Frustrated by how weak she was now, the blonde shifted her position. "I'll ask you again." She paused dangerously. "Where is she!!?" she exclaimed loudly.

"Look what we've got here. An angry Mireille? Pitiful creature.." was all reply Naomi gave the Corsican girl.

"You fuc—"

SLAP! Mireille's word was stopped by the rough feeling of her chin being slapped by a man's hand.

"Careful with your mouth." the bald headed man muttered. His bare hand hung on the air for a while before he let it down.

She did not want to admit it, but the slap was pretty much hurting her. Not on her chin, but rather her heart. No one ever slapped her that rude. She could feel her eyes burning from the feeling of outrage. "You fucki—"

The younger man's fist was already flying in the air when she heard the Corsican girl's utter her coarse word, ready to punch. The blonde's eyes widen bravely to oppose, but suddenly, and fortunately Naomi hold the bald headed man's wide arm with surprising strength, delaying the act that was supposed to be directed at the blonde.

"Enough, Martin." the fake vet's feminine voice commanded.

"As you please." the man called Martin lowered her fist, but not her gaze at Mireille.

Mireille stared back at the younger man of the two. She had already begun to feel like hating the man.

"Now back to business." Naomi calmly announced, as she made her way to touch the Corsican girl's face.

Mireille jerked out in her position as she was touched ; the female Soldats' hand was freezing cold on her face. She shook her head forcefully and glared. "Don't touch me you freaking old bitch! What do you want?!"

Naomi chuckled evilly. "Ah. Good question." She paused for a while. "All I want is for you to be dead."

"Then why don't you do it now?!" the blonde shouted madly.

The fake vet smiled. "There is a right time for everything."

Mireille snorted. "Whatever." she mumbled. "..What did you do to Kirika back then?"

Naomi grinned in a way that made the Corsican girl shuddered. "She was such a fool. I didn't know it was so easy to trick her."

"I ask you, what the hell did you do to her?!"

"I just gave her some kind of drug." The female Soldats answer, her eyes glittered in happiness. "A very useful one."

Mireille gasped slightly. _A drug? How? What kind?_

Naomi watched in amusement as Mireille wore her confused expression. "She is too much of an addict of tea, don't you know?"

The blonde gritted her teeth forcefully. "Where. Is. Kirika. Now?!" she asked slowly and clearly.

"You have no need to know." retorted the fake vet. "She is alive, and that much I am kind enough to tell you."

The Corsican girl scowled in disgust. "If you dare to hurt her, or touch her, or—"

"Shut up!" the female Soldats shouted. "You do not have the right to tell me what to do. Remember it well." she stated.

"I don't care." Mireille's blue eyes met with Naomi. "You will pay for everything." She accused, somehow in a brave and challenging tone.

Naomi laughed hysterically at the Corsican girl's word. Strangely, she walked closer to Mireille, and showed her long finger nails right in front the blonde's eyes. Then, without any further talk, she scratched her sharp nails along Mireille's soft chin slowly, somehow causing deep red bloody mark along the blonde's delicate chin.

Mireille grunted. The fake vet's nails were extremely painful and sharp as it scratched deeply in Mireille's skin. She was about to move her body and shook her head just like before, if not a glimpse at Naomi's face made her stop.

The Corsican girl's eyes widen in horror. The female Soldats looked like possessed ; her brown eyes stared blankly as she moved. Her mouth curled a wide grin, as if enjoying what she was doing, which is scratching using her own nails. The fake vet was impassive, but at the same time seemed to be pleasant and happy.

Mireille could not help but shuddered at the view. Suddenly, Naomi laughed loudly one more time in full satisfaction, which made the Corsican girl jumped slightly in surprise. Laughing and grinning with no clear reason, Naomi had jolted her way to the blonde's right side, ready to leave another mark on Mireille's other chin.

While recognizing the nails tickling on her chin, Mireille felt her body suddenly felt cold, and heavy. The nails move up and own in a straight line on her chin. It was pretty much hurt, after a while. But still, all the scratch was nothing compared to the glowing, haunted aura she received and felt from Naomi.

The fake vet surely enjoyed her little, torturing act from the sadism look on her face. Still laughing crazily, Naomi traveled the blonde's cheek with her nails, making scratch all the way.

"How about paying with my beautiful fingernails? Hmm?? Mireille?" Naomi whispered dangerously, her voice somehow sounded threatening for the blonde.

Noticing the now scary and painful touch, Mireille neither dared to look nor to steal a glance at Naomi. Or even gave a reply. The very existence beside her had succeeded at scaring her. Especially the possessed cold eyes.

In the middle of her perilous situation, the blonde somehow took advantage to see the men standing beside her, from the corner of her eye. Judging from the look they had on their face, they were also freaked out by Naomi's strange and sudden weird act.

To Mireille's surprise and relief, a minute later she found Naomi had done tormenting her, and now smiling casually at her, as if she had not done anything. When Naomi moved to her place from before, the Corsican girl heaved out her breath in great relief ; she had unconsciously kept her breath all along the way when the strange Naomi was beside her.

_What's wrong with her?!? She freaked me out! _

"Why did.. Why did you do that?" Mireille asked slowly, her voice somehow cracked by fear.

The female Soldats continued to smile enigmatically, and did not give her answer.

Mireille decided not to ask more. Not that she wanted to know, too. She looked up, and asked, "Who are you?"

Naomi chuckled. "Me?" she whispered in a low voice. "You used to call me Doctor Naomi, didn't you? So, I am Naomi. And of course," she paused and sharpen her stare. "Soldats."

Ignoring the answer that did not quite answer her question, Mireille inhaled quietly in relief. She sighed at the thought of Naomi would kill her back then. A long silence stretched between them. No one made a move, or spoke a word afterwards.

Then, slowly regaining her composure by the time that had long passed, Mireille asked tentatively, "..What do you want from me and Kirika?"

Naomi's smile grew wider. "It's a secret." she said. "Even your friend Chloe doesn't know all the details."

".."

Naomi laughed loudly. "She is such a smart bastard. Smart, but not smart enough. She thinks she can make you escape from me, huh?"

Mireille was completely confused, but decided to shut her mouth. It seemed that Naomi had begun to become talkative, to the Corsican girl's relief. Any other personality was better but the freaking, horrible, sadist creature from before.

"Altena had tortured her, you know?" she pointed one of her finger at Mireille. "All because she wanted to protect Kirika."

Mireille remained as quiet as a rock, and listened.

Naomi shot a look of anger at the blonde. "She risked her life to tell you what she knew, didn't she? She is a traitor. She's supposed to help us in this plan, and not the opposite." Abruptly, Naomi's voice turned to a happy tone. "But her stubbornness had helped us. Her part of telling you the information was also included in my plan."

At this, the Corsican girl's eyes widen. "..What?!"

Naomi grinned in victory. "It was easier for us to capture you while you are in a state of confusion. Especially, Kirika. Both your acts were reckless all the time." She paused. "I almost couldn't bear to hold off the laughter of you two! Both of you gave me too many silly openings."

"What makes me still laughing out loud until now," she continued. "Is that you guys believe me as a vet, and as Kirika's mother."

"You bastard."

Naomi continued proudly. "It was such a miracle to me that Chloe didn't kill me that time. It was all thanks to you and Kirika, too."

_She's evil.  
_

"I suppose," Naomi muttered softly, "That you are completely fooled by my face, my story, my proof, and all, right?"

"Your face.." mumbled the blonde. "Surgery?" she ventured.

"Surgery, it is. You are quite smart."

At the compliment, Mireille otherwise felt really stupid. Felt helpless, she looked at her surrounding. Two rude men, one scary woman were half circling her, all because she was too careless then captured. Kirika was also nowhere to see. She herself was badly exhausted and wounded. She lost to Soldats.

She failed to protect Kirika.

As her mind brought up the happy memory with her lovers, her delayed peaceful moment with the Japanese girl, her wasted time so far just to think about Soldats, all things Soldats had done to herself and Kirika, Mireille felt her anger rise, exceeding her self pity or anything.

"Why did you do that far?!" Mireille exclaimed suddenly in a high voice. The three Soldats, pretty surprised from their silly expression, fully paid their attention at her this time. "What for?!"

The fake vet smiled calmly. "You will know later."

Pretty annoyed, Mireille shouted, "Answer me, Naomi!"

"Poor Mireille.." Naomi mumbled happily. "After all, it was thanks to all your effort that all things were easy." she said, smiling. "Kirika was much more of a help. Innocent, stupid, easy to fool, animals addict, stubborn, intr–"

"STOP TALKING ABOUT HER LIKE YOU KNOW WHO SHE IS!" Mireille exclaimed in outrage, now glaring at Naomi, who seemed entirely startled to suddenly be shouted at.

The Corsican had had enough of self pity, and now despised anyone who pitied her, and even more, anyone who pitied, or said anything wrong about Kirika. She could not accept anyone talking in a negative way about Kirika.

Very especially, Naomi.

She did not hold back her feeling anymore, and went out rampage. She shook and moved all her body's part forcefully. She stretched all muscle of her body, trying to get off of the things that bind and keeping her still. She felt the stinging pain from her left arm, crying for her to stop moving, but she did not care.

Therefore with her full attempt, Mireille dropped on the floor hardly, along with her chair and with the very still same stuff bind her on it. It was unfortunate that the chair was strong enough it did not break to pieces. Mireille struggled to let go, to be freed from the string on her wrist, from the chair, from this situation.

Then, she heard laughter from the three person right in front of her. They were laughing at her.

Mireille felt mad. She had come to notice her useless effort on the chair by now. Soldats had greatly trapped her completely on the chair. But Mireille was not a person to give up easily.

She tried with all her might to approach Naomi, along with her body stuck to the chair. Snuggling and sneaking on the cold dusty tiles on the floor, the blonde finally got closer to the fake vet's after some time. Looking up, she could see Naomi was standing right in front of her in utter satisfaction, laughing happily, her eyes staring down at 'Mireille with her chair' on the floor.

"What are you doing, slug?" the female Soldats asked mockingly, laughing. The sound of laughter of the two men joined her words afterwards. "Dancing?"

In the middle of all laughter she was rewarded, regardless of how silly and ridiculous the act would be, Mireille bit Naomi's bare leg down her skirt.

"Arrghhh!!!" The latter stopped her laugh and screamed in a high voice right after. She jumped back in horror, particularly shocked and surprised to feel the blonde's teeth on her skin.

She ignored Naomi's shouting, the fierce little hands on her face, trying to stop her act. She hung steadily like a worm in a leaf, like a dog who bit the leg of a culprit. She deeply attached her teeth on the skin, and bit the leg with all her strength. She bit deeper and deeper.

It worked. Naomi looked startled, and definitely pained.

And it was not until Franchis and Martin both slapped, punched, and pulling her not too long after that Mireille let go from the female Soldats' leg.

Mireille was thrown harshly by the bald headed man to the other side, along with her firm chair, away from Naomi. The two man helped her sat properly for some reason after some time, in great vigilance. The Corsican girl did not bite them, and let them helped her. Ignoring her pained back, she never let go the eye contact of Naomi. There was a huge red mark of teeth bite on Naomi's leg. Her teeth had almost ripped out the skin of the female Soldats' leg, as the mark was red and deep enough to assume the pain. Mireille smiled. She felt satisfied of her act. Despite all punches, slaps, and forceful act she received, she felt a little light in feeling, and happier.

She had hurt Naomi. She had made a scar, at least. Even Franchis and Martin did not dare to move closer to her.

Still on the floor, Mireille had not even lost her continuous stare at Naomi. She glared at her, eyes glinting in strong determination and bravery to oppose Soldats.

Naomi dragged her feet up quickly, and walked her way to Mireille slowly, this time more cautious than she had ever. "Pretty brutal and aggressive, aren't you?"

Mireille had no will to answer and shut her mouth.

"You are lucky that I still have need of you." scorned Naomi. "Or else I'll kill you myself. Right now."

Mireille kept her glare still at the now sweaty, angry Asian face. "Why don't you just get out of here?" she said sharply, and found herself surprised at her own words.

Naomi looked appalled. "Don't you dare to get all cocky just because that small crap you did, Mireille." She halted then added coldly. "Your life is in my own hand."

The blonde once again kept silence, before said, "I will never let myself be killed."

"Hmph." The female Soldats grunted. "You will see. Tomorrow."

Mireille did not reply anything and only scowled at Naomi.

"Be ready for your own death ceremony tomorrow, Mireille Bouquet." Naomi stated with a smirk on her face. "A very special ceremony only for you."

* * *

Another chapter..! Please review if you can.. 

Many, many thanks to all who gave me reviews, vivi the demon goddess of fire, masu1212, charis-chan..!! I'm greatly supported by you guys!


	15. Chapter 15

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself..!**

Starving, thirsty, cold, wounded, trapped - all Mireille felt was enough to blame herself to be so pathetic like she was thinking now. She and Kirika were captured, and worst, separated. What made things even worse was the threat Naomi had given to her. She said that Mireille would be died by next morning.

The next morning, now it was already. It was pretty early when Mireille woke up from her sleepless rest. Despite the coldness in the room, the Corsican girl somehow felt refreshed and warmed by the morning sunlight which illuminated by the small window beneath her. The chirping sounds of birds were the only sound she could heard vaguely. Hearing that, it sounded like the best lullaby in the world for her, considering that she would soon enough hear the tedious voice of Naomi.

A thought to think of a precaution plan to do if Soldats would truly launch her dead statement had flashed on her mind for many times. But, poor as Mireille was now, she could not push her brain to think of something, or even a good plan. It was not because her body felt stiff and cold. And it was not because of her poor health condition, or her wounded arm. It was also not because of her growling stomach, or her dry throat due to the lack of water.

It was because she felt... alone.

Ridiculous reason, it seemed. But still, tough it was hard to admit, the blonde felt that she was completely weak, helpless and vulnerable without Kirika by her side. It was only now that she had continued the living day without the Japanese girl by her side, not accompanied by the brunette's impassive behavior. It was just a couple of days, Mireille knew, but she could already feel the hole of need in her heart ; she needed Kirika, immensely. A little whisper from the brunette's lips, or even a short glimpse of the Japanese girl, alive, was maybe enough to cheer her up.

The Corsican girl really got the sudden urge to cry just by thinking of her lover. She wanted to know so badly about the Japanese girl condition. Is she lonely? Did she hurt? All that kind of thought disturbing her mind eventually. Wondering as she was, not only once that the thought of dying with Kirika along her side, together felt like acceptable, and alright, almost intriguing. The thought was comforting, and the blonde could not help resisted and drove it away from her mind.

She never got the chance to add some more reason to her 'comforting' excuse tough, as the Corsican girl suddenly sensed a suspicious thing was moving from the corner of her eye. Her body tensed slightly, her jaw tightened immediately. Regardless of her being forever weak with her current state whoever or whatever came her way, Mireille viewed the room with a complete cautious, just out of habit. Her eyes darted carefully at all direction. She stared intensely, but minutes later nothing seemed to be moving or sneaking anymore. Maybe she was imagining things.

Sighing, Mireille felt dumb to even felt curious or careful like she was just back then.

_I'm about to die, and I'm helpless right now. What can I do?_

The Corsican girl lowered down her head silently. Deep in her heart, she hated to be killed, and completely opposedthe thought of dying, even together with Kirika. Afterwards, as her mind fall through a deep conflict and personality, the blonde grew even more and more confused of what to do.

She hates Naomi. She despises Soldats. But aside from all the hatred and grudges she hold, she wanted Kirika. This very point made her empty and lonely to the best part. Alone, thinking for a while, she abruptly realized that deep in her heart, one innate personality of her was crying out loud, pushing to break through her 'giving-up' mind.

It was none other than her hatred to see herself being weak.

The blonde hated to see herself so weak, like now. She wanted to be tough, or rather, she must be tough like she used to be. She had had no parents since she was just a kid. Alone, small, nobody - no one would seek or come for her anymore. That was the thought she always kept since her parents' death. Therefore, she made a decision since she was a kid, that she must learn to protect herself, for she had no other relatives left beside her Uncle, who had already dead now as well. No one could blame her determined will to be strong, for this reason.

Knowing this, Mireille grew even more perplexed to do anything. She was not fond to be so weak, pathetic. She was usually strong, formidable, energetic, and.. lively.

_But what can I do? I don't have my gun, or any weapon to attack. And Kirika isn't with me.._

Her mind once again flew to her lover. She wondered what the Japanese girl would do in her state. An answer popped out before she had the chance to finish asking the question.

_..She will struggle._

_She will struggle until the end.. That's Kirika.. Am I the same..?_

A moment of debating and considering with her heart and thought passed, and Mireille finally came to a conclusion. She had made up her mind. If she were to die in the end, she would accept. But saving Kirika would be her first priority. The life of her lover must continue whatever it would take. That was what she had finally assumed after a long time of consideration.

Gaining confidence back to her soul, the Corsican girl laughed inwardly at her stupidity of not thinking and made her decision quicker. It was not her life that matter, it was Kirika's.

Mireille did not have the time to think further of what kind of plan would she do, as suddenly the sound of a door being opened roared inside the room. It seemed that Soldats had decided to pay one more visit to her luxurious dusty chamber. The sound of footsteps echoed in the room. Other than that, silence filled up the room.

The Corsican girl waited patiently, clenching her fists tightly and sharpened her gaze. A while after, the visitors showed their faces to the blonde. As expected, Naomi was there. And unsurprisingly, the other two men were exactly the same men from last time, Franchis and Martin, she recalled.

As the three of them proceeded to half-circling her, Mireille stared at the female Soldats, who was now wearing a white leather jacket and tight black jeans to cover her legs. Seeing this, the blonde remembered her last brutal action - she bit Naomi's leg. She smiled slightly, but kept her eye focus at Naomi. As soon as they stopped moving, Mireille snapped coarsely, "What do you want?!"

Naomi looked startled. Keeping the smile on her face, she said, "I just want to see you for the last time, before you die."

Mireille grunted, then shut her mouth.

"Actually," the female Soldats continued, "I didn't expect you to have this much strength to even speak a word." Naomi glanced at Martin. "Did you give her something to eat or maybe, drink?"

The shorter man of the two answered quickly, "No, Madam."

"A beast such as her doesn't need food or drink to survive." The man with moustache stated loudly, her eyes flamed anger at Mireille.

The Corsican girl snorted. "Like hell I will accept anything you offer."

Naomi frowned. "You sure have good health and stamina," she muttered. "not good for our plan."

Franchis turned her body and faced his leader. "Madam, should we—"

"No." the fake vet snapped. "Not yet."

"I heard that the other one has not ready as well." Martin said respectfully. "Somebody had asked the doctor."

In the middle of that Soldats conversation, Mireille's eyes narrowed at the view of suspicious thing that caught her eyes. The bald headed man called Martin was holding some kind of black briefcase on both hands ; it hung awkwardly but safely behind his back. As the Corsican girl was about to stare more, the female Soldats walked toward her.

"You," Naomi said seriously as she pointed one of her fingers at the blonde's forehead, "are lucky this time."

Surprise to see the fake vet's face so close with her, Mireille's eyes widen and unconsciously gulped slightly.

"Ma'am," Franchis walked over. "If you want, I can make her" he glanced at Mireille, "ready."

"I'd love you to do so, Franchis." Naomi said. "But, if the other one hasn't ready yet as well, it will not do."

"..You are too kind to them." the moustache man mumbled vaguely.

"No, I'm not." Naomi stared sharply at the man, showing her disagreement. "Do you have any other thing to say?"

"No, Ma'am." Frachis said humbly despite her scowling expression and walked back to where he was before.

Naomi spun her body and scowled at the blonde. "You two sure ruin my mood a lot." she mumbled. "I will make your death very, very painful as a reward." she halted, as if doubting whether to say the next word or not. "Tomorrow."

Mireille replied nothing to this. She had come to realize that her mouth was too dry, and it bean to torture her a little to speak some word. Not to mention that her head, and her whole body begun to ached more as well. It was not that she had something to say, too.

"Just by looking at you.." Naomi's voice was cold as it flowed through the air, "makes me more and more desperate to kill you immediately by my own hands."

The blonde let out a small gasp. It came to Mireille that Naomi was sure enough in a bad mood today. The way she looked at the blonde was still the same devastating and perilous one, but one thing was missing. Naomi did not have her smile; the smile that used to hang foolishly on her Asian face. It was such an unreasonable reason to bring up, but the missing smile completely remarked Naomi even more as a heartless, cold devil, from Mireille's point of view.

Feeling a kind of heavy pressure filled the air in the room, the blonde remained as quiet as a statue. She still maintained the eye contact with Naomi, tough she wished to break it out now, as the latter's eyes were scowling at her in a cold, unfriendly manner Mireille did not want to describe. They kept their position in a mutual silence for a while. Naomi stared closely and sharply at the Corsican girl with the look of a hungry beast, while the blonde glared back tentatively. Tough Mireille found it hard to keep her eyes focus, due to her physical condition.

Abruptly and fortunately, Naomi broke the staring competition and turned on her heels, now facing her two comrades, backing Mireille. "Let's go." she commanded sternly as she walked away to the entrance door.

Martin and Frachis let out a solemn choir of, "Yes, Madam." before did likewise.

Confused, the blonde just watched their leave vaguely and said nothing. Three figure of adult slipped between the old machines, making their way out hastily. Not too long after, the three Soldats had gone in sight, ended with the loud sound of door slammed. Now Mireille was back alone in the cold, dusty room, accompanied by piles of boxes and old machines.

Just in case that Naomi changed her mind and came back to kill her, Mireille waited for a long time, prepared to receive a sudden invasion out of nowhere. She waited in silence, but none came to the old smelly room she was trapped in. Puzzled by how to feel, the Corsican girl heaved out a long sigh.

_Seems like my death 'ceremony' will really be delayed.._

Feeling a bit relax, Mireille's mind went through the conversation the Soldats had back then. They said something about Kirika not being ready, as well as herself.

_What is this 'ready' they were talking about? _

Then there was the suspicious, secret-looking briefcase Martin was carrying. He did not bring it without purpose, Mireille was sure about it. Her instinct told her something was sneaky in there, might be even dangerous. It was such a pain to admit, but the blonde thought that Soldats really came up with a good plan this time, let alone the disguising act as Kirika's mother.

Mireille closed her eyes - she felt like it somehow - and tried to think and concentrate to guess what that Soldats' had in mind. Minutes passed, and morning slowly changed to late noon, almost evening. To the blonde's satisfaction, none of Soldats came to her again while she was doing the only thing she could, which was thinking.

Desperately needed some answer, she stayed in silence, ignoring her starving stomach, and her dry throat. If she counted it right, Mireille assumed that she had not eaten and drunk anything since the day she was knocked out in the apartment, which meant about two days. Slowly, the outcome had begun to pain her.

Her left arm had somehow eased her in a bad way now ; she did not feel anything other than hardness and stiffness on that arm. In other words, it was possible that the arm itself had stopped functioning or acting properly, as Mireille found it pretty useless to try to move it. Her muscle did not obey her. Her head began to feel like spinning it made her wonder whether she was in a flat room or not. Worse, her whole body felt more and more cold and hard to move. Despite all that, she was shivering.

Realizing her condition, the blonde noticed that she may not even have the strength to look up or stare at Naomi again. It was fortunate that she had gained some spirit when the female Soldats came in the morning.

The room was dead silence, and slowly returning to its dark self as the night was coming soon, blocking the sunlight through the window. As if things were not worse enough, Mireille felt her head became dizzy, her body heat rise, but at the same time was cold. She may have a fever already. Her eyes felt heavy to open, and her head now lowered idly in no strength. Even breathing was not a simple matter anymore. Her stamina had almost reached its limit. Had Naomi seen her like this, the death penalty might be launched right away.

In the middle of her poor circumstance, the blonde caught a rustling sound from the boxes far on her right. Not much different than the first she heard back then. Dust and old as the room was, there was high possibility that here, the room she sat in, was the nest or source of little animals such as rats, lizards, or maybe, slugs. She did not care about it though, as her health condition would precisely need much more attention.

Unfortunately the rats, Mireille assumed, quite disturbing her as they were pretty noisy this time. Breathing hard, the blonde sensed that the rats snuffling, sneaking, and rustling audibly as if wanted to annoy her completely. In the middle of all that, while struggling enough to stay awake, the Corsican girl felt like she heard a human voice whispering to her.

_..Maybe I've become crazy._

Curious, Mireille forced every ounce of her strength left in her body to open her eyes and looked up. She glanced to her right, and surprisingly, saw a slight vision of something big moving. Her vision became blurry right after ; she was no longer strong enough to waste her energy to snoop rapidly. Her eyes fall shut once more.

"Mireille!" the blonde felt like hearing someone whispered her name vividly from faraway.

_..I don't know that rats talk._

The rustling sound slowly changed into sneaky footsteps coming through Mireille's way. This time, she was almost sure it was human footsteps. The Corsican girl wanted to open her eyes, but failed to do so due to the seduction of resting. She felt sleepy, and about to fall asleep in no time..

"Wake up, you lazy woman!" the voice had become rather louder and clearer than last time, a woman's voice and a familiar one, Mireille assumed.

Then, she felt someone playing and struggling with the ropes and strings on her arms and her legs. Thoroughly, a brief slash of knife flicked in the air, in her ears, making her conscious again. Eyes shut, Mireille could feel her feet were free to move even without moving them ; they were no longer strapped on the chair.

Mireille swallowed the saliva in her mouth and gulped, before pushing her dry mouth to speak, "Who?"

"Who else will be here, you idiot?" said the person whose cloth garment rustling through the blonde's skin as the person made her way to cut the rope and strings on her back with no difficulty.

Mireille thought for a second and asked tentatively, "..Chloe?"

The person cut the last rope which bind the blonde on hands and the backs, then sniffed. "Hmph. Who else?"

Later, the rope had completely gone by the blonde's body. It was supposed to be a relief had Mireille not become this weary. She felt her body had now felt utterly heavy and unstable enough. She felt her body swung weakly to her left, ready to crash the floor in no time unless Chloe saved her and hold her figure on both arms. The latter moved very gently and quickly. Unexpectedly, Mireille thought the hands holding her felt nice, strong, and stern.

Finally got a nice surface to rest, the urge to sleep once again seduced her. She was about to sleep when she felt a liquid splashing her lips, her mouth. She licked the liquids, despite the little amount of energy she had.

"Now drink." Chloe ordered in a strict voice, as one of her hand which grasp the mineral water bottle drew closer to Mireille's mouth.

As Chloe gave her best to make Mireille drink a lot, the Corsican gratefully received the liquid she demanded for long time. They stayed like that for a long time, until Mireille had finally finished a full bottle.

"Can you.. open your eyes?" Chloe asked softly.

Mireille grunted softly, and tried to open her eyes slowly. The vision was blurry as usual, before turning to a rather vivid scene, a view of a purple haired kid looking worriedly right in front her face.

The blonde realized that she was being hold by Chloe strongly, and felt somehow ashamed. She hid her blush by struggling to look away and moved her body from the green cloaked girl. "Uh." Mireille mumbled as she moved her body to the floor, using her right hands to push. Chloe let the blonde did so, as she eventually helped the Corsican girl to sit.

"Thank you." the blonde finally said as soon as she sat upon the wall. She still felt tired, but not as tired and sleepy as she was before. She felt so much better now. She had at least, drank water.

Mireille saw Chloe sat herself beside her, and now searching something in her green cloak. "Here," the purple haired girl said as she let go a piece of fresh bread in her palms. "Eat it."

The bread looked delicious on Chloe's hand, Mireille thought, considering she had not eaten anything the past few days. She took the bread and ate it in silence, while Chloe's eyes running through the room, scanning it.

"You can eat in ease, I'll sense if someone coming." the purple haired girl stated calmly as her eyes wandered inside the room. "Does your left arm.. alright?" Chloe asked in an unexpected gentle voice.

"..It seems dead to me."

_How come it's alright..? First, it was stabbed. Then, it was shot by that Naomi bastard. Thank goodness it's still exist._

"..Oh."

Silence once again stretched between them, as Mireille munched her bread and Chloe now staring at her mutely. As soon as she had eaten the bread, the Corsican girl felt more energetic than before.

"Thank you, Chloe." she said softly, looking at the purple haired girl.

"Uh huh." Chloe mumbled.

Mireille was about to ask about how and why the purple haired girl came here, had her eyes not widen as she saw Chloe's face close by. There were deep scratches everywhere along the girl's white, pale face. There was also more than one red or blue mark beneath her eyes. A sticky looking blood mark on the corner of the purple haired girl's lips caught her attention, too. The body, Mireille could not see; it was covered by her green cloak, however.

"What happened to you, Chloe?!" Mireille asked worriedly.

"It's not important." Chloe hurriedly replied and looked away from the blonde.

"You—"

"What matters now is," Chloe once again seek something in her cloak, "that you bring this." she offered a white thick envelope to Mireille. "Don't open it while I'm still here."

"What is this?" Mireille asked in bewilderment as soon as she took the thick envelope.

"The useful information you'll need if the condition gets worse. It is possible that you may not open it."

"..I don't understand."

"In other words," Chloe said in a hasty tone, "You will only open it if I'm not here anymore. If I have the time, I will explain it to you myself without you have to bother seeing the paper written inside."

"..Okay." Mireille replied. "Now can you tell me what happened to.. your face?" she ventured in a soft tone.

The purple haired girl remained silent for a while before giving her answer. "Not that much different than your arm."

Did not completely get the meaning but decided to say no more, Mireille turned the envelope upside down, swap it to the left or to the right, until she somehow satisfied and slipped it into her pocket.

"Now," Chloe stood up suddenly, "Are you fit enough to get out of here?"

"I'll try."

"Come here, then." Chloe walked quickly and gestured at the pile of boxes on the right.

Mireille hobbered; this was the first time she moved her legs, after all. She followed the purple haired girl to the right edge of the room which covered and blocked by plenty piles of boxes in sight. When Chloe stopped walking, the blonde did likewise. The purple haired girl moved some boxes aside, pushed a high piles one of it, and eventually, the Corsican girl could see a big hole hanging on the wall.

Ignoring all question on her mind as to why such hole would exist, Mireille grew worried as she realized that they would run away. "What about Kirika?"

"She's okay. Soldats won't kill her, I assure you."

"What?!"

"There's no time to explain."

"..I'm not leaving her behind. Never."

"We will only leave her until you are healthy enough to fight and kill." Chloe muttered. "You don't think that I'm alone is enough to face them, do you?"

"But—"

Chloe's eyes met the blonde's. "You must trust me." she said seriously, but in a soft voice. "We'll definitely return and get her back."

"I can fight now." the blonde insisted.

"You can't. Not with your condition now. We will lose." the younger girl whispered. "You have no idea how many they are."

"But Kirika—"

"That Naomi won't kill her.." Chloe paused. ".. without you."

"Huh?"

"Mireille." The purple haired girl called out the blonde's name in a soft tone. "Just believe me, will you?" she asked desperately, almost pleading.

Mireille's eyebrow rose in surprise. Chloe seemed really desperate to save her, at any rate. She was quite astonished to see the other side of Chloe she had not seen before, especially since the girl came. The latter's action had been quite astounding, and surprisingly, gentle. Considering, Mireille finally made up her mind and nodded solemnly after a while.

"Good. Follow me." Chloe whispered as she lowered her body and walked through the hole which was big enough to the size of a kid.

Outside, night had fallen. As soon as she passed the hole, Mireille could see a big grassy field in sight. It occurred to her that they were outside somewhere, standing in the middle of a cold windy night in a large, green field.

"Hurry."

Nodded to herself, Mireille quicken her pace with all her might, obediently followed the purple haired girl back who was walking her way across the field. For some reason, Chloe did not run, which Mireille felt as gratitude.

Watching Chloe's back, Mireille found that she had not got the chance to ask why the girl seemed pretty determined to save her. The answer would not be far from the sake of Kirika, Mireille predicted. She decided to remember to ask for it later when the two of them were resting, other than hurrying escaping as if they were fugitives.

Suceeded in passing along the grassy field after some time, the two of them now walked quickly down the side road of an old village, under the shining light of the moon above. The so called village, however, was not in the proper state of be called as one. The village, which Mireille found very unattractive, seemed dead without plants around and worst enough, had no lively sign at all. It was kind of unlikely that someone would bother to live anywhere in here. The village's houses, which obviously abandoned, were pretty much looked like battered as well. Broken doors, scattered glasses, robbed curtains, tainted roofs were visible all along the way.

Sneezing and breathing hardly due to the cold and wind, the blonde tried her best to walk faster. The road was surprisingly long and exhausting, as if it had no end at all. They walked in silence - their footsteps, which clattering almost inaudibly, softly down the night street was the only thing heard. The houses were no good view at all as the blonde got a bad feeling just by glancing at one of them – she guessed that it may have some ghosts inside.

Shivering, tired, Mireille patiently forced her feet to keep walking. Time after time passed, and the Corsican girl begun to feel very exhausted, as her body was also cold. From behind, she could see that Chloe was also shuddering because of the chilly freezing wind. A thought of Kirika and her resting in the warm, immense bed in her apartment occurred to her mind. She imagined the soft texture of the bed, the fluffy pillow she used to hug, the warmth from the Japanese girl's body..

"Walk faster and get beside me." All of the sudden, Chloe whispered in a low, startling voice.

Obediently, Mireille did what she was told and now stood right beside Chloe, and saw the purple haired girl's pale face. Not because of the weather, Mireille noticed, as she was soon enough sensed the same feeling with Chloe.

There was someone watching them, somewhere.

"Take this," Chloe slipped something metal and cold to Mireille's hand. A gun.

Mireille received it carefully. The gun weight felt awkward on her hand at first, but it turned to be comforting soon. It had been two days since her usual gun had been taken from her - two days since she hold a gun, a weapon. Mireille hid the metal thing inside her heavy pocket. Then, despite the situation, the two of them walked casually like before.

Whoever the person snooping at them were quite smart and experienced to sneak. Mireille had not sensed anymore the sign of their existence; maybe they had run, or much likely, hiding. The houses were suspicious, obviously, but houses were everywhere alongside the road they walked on. Any houses would do for hidden places.

Cautiously, Mireille and Kirika sent their eyes to wander through the village. Nothin happened so far ; none came to ambush them, yet they kept walking further in great vigilance. Abruptly, something shiny came visible to their eyes. Narrowing her eyes, Mireille realized that there was something eerie from the old house not much further on the left and right side of the road. Despite all dusty, taunted condition of the house, the house definitely was unlike the other houses ; all the lights in the house were suddenly on. It was almost as if anyone in the houses wanted their existence to be recognized by turning on the electricity.

Chloe seemed to notice it too as her stare kept focused on the same direction as Mireille. The two of them halted for a second, before started to walk again. They did not communicate, as they were pretty much aware of how to act. They had no other option – they would have to walk through the house, for the road was dead straight without junction. No matter what, they got to pass the house to escape. Slowly and cautiously, they walked closer and closer to the house.

"Maybe.. they're just some curious villagers." mumbled Mireille, despite her own doubt.

"No. Here is still _their_ territory."

The Corsican girl squeaked slightly.

"Yes. Looks like there's really no way we can escape so smoothly." Chloe gave a pause. "Not as long as Naomi is the one in charge."

Mireille gave no reply to this. Experience had taught her that Naomi was not one to underestimate.

"There's a wooden bridge right straight ahead." Chloe whispered softly while they kept walking. "Cross it and go further along the pathways and you will see a small town. Go to the inn and rest."

"Wha—"

"When I tell you to run, you run." Chloe added seriously, facing the confused blonde. "..I beg you."

Mireille's eyes widen in surprise and shock. Unfortunately she had no time to say anything, as Chloe grabbed her arms and pulled her in an amazing strength, forcefully brought the Corsican girl to run forward, clearly approaching the trap house. Despite her surprise, her weary feet still followed the girl. As expected, a lot people burst out from the house to greet them, each single one brought a weapon with them on their hands. Seeing how many those people were just in a short glimpse, despite being grabbed by Chloe, the blonde pulled out her gun, preparing to shoot.

But she never got the chance - Chloe did not yet stop running. They run passed the people, the house. Amazed at the running speed of the purple haired girl, Mireille pretty much convinced that they would escape without bothered to make harm, had Chloe did not so suddenly stop.

"NOW RUN!" Chloe hissed loudly as she roughly let go of the grab. The purple haired girl turned and run back to the houses she once passed, leaving Mireille far, alone.

Startled by that sudden release, Mireille almost fall to the hard ground had she not suceeded in balancing and rolled herself. She staggered to her feet, looked back, and noticed that she was not that far from where Chloe released her – the battlefield. The purple haired girl was already in the middle of the fight ; at least ten people were circling her bravely. Launching her knives in prodigy speed while running and dodging, Chloe definitely did well in that perilous situation. One by one, the attackers begun to fall. But at the same time, more and more people emerged from the houses, speed on their feet, eyes focused on the invader girl, determined to kill. The fight continued. No one glanced at the blonde's direction, despite the place she was standing on was only around six meters away from them.

Out of characters, and to Mireille's surprise as well, she found herself stood still on her silent place, watching -her gun rest inside her palm, lying behind her waist. She wanted to help the purple haired girl, but something in her mind refused to do so. Then, despite the crucial situation, somehow her eyes got the chance to meet Chloe's. In a brief moment, regardless of how busy she was while striking down enemies, the latter had managed to keep the eye contact for a sufficient time. Their eyes had talked.

It was just a short contact, yet the act had helped Mireille made her decision. Somehow, just right after that moment, she turned her body and run at the maximal speed her feet could bring her, to the town Chloe told her before. She run, one hand holding the gun, the other securing her pocket, where a white envelope laid inside.

* * *

Another chapter, a looong one! I'm sorry for the late update.. 

As usual, thanks to all the reviewers, vivi the demon goddess of fire, masu1212.. and all readers as well..! Please read and review! I will be really, really grateful if you do so..


	16. Chapter 16

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself..!**

Mireille ran, dashed, and forced to increase the speed in her feet with all she might. She kept running, running, and running. Night had fallen ; the sky was dark, the moon barely lit the way, and the path's surrounding was not much clearer. The Corsican girl halted slightly when her vision caught the sight of a bridge. Collecting her breath, Mireille crossed it, and continued her venture.

How she finally set her foot upon the street of the small town whose appearance bright by lights, she did not know. How such town would exist, she did not want to ask. How the first place that she saw right away was the inn, noisy and lively right on her left, she cared not. All she knew was that she wanted, and need to rest.

----------

Mireille Bouquet slowly blinked her eyes in a lazy motion, adapting her sense to the unfamiliar morning sunlight. Her body felt stiff, tough better after she laid on the soft, bouncy stuff she was now resting in. Her left arm - wounded, cold, aching, - was apparently felt cold despite the thick, tickling blanket she had used to cover her body since the night. Realizing the next day had come, the blonde sat up on her bed. She searched for her gun worriedly, hold it tightly, and looked at her surrounding.

She was practically sitting on a bed, in a small, simple white-painted room. Small window - a curtain-less one - hung right on her left beside the bed, illuminating the yellow strays of light from the sun. At the deeper part in the room, a bathroom whose door kept ajar existed. So far all was normal ; Mireille did not spot anything or anyone suspicious in her room. Slowly, the Corsican girl lowered her gun and somehow began to like the room she was in. Regardless of the dusty furniture, dirty tiles, and the old ceilings, Mireille found the room was nice, relaxingly quiet, and comfortable enough.

Despite the coldness in the room, Mireille's clothes plugged sticky on her body due to the sweat on it. It was supposed to be a good sign from her fever had her vision not abruptly went blurry, then black for a while. Fortunately, after a few times blinking and some shook on her head, she came back to see things vividly afterwards. Her fatigue had gradually recovered during the time, tough the fever proved to insist in troubling her, despite the sweating. Mireille put the blanket on and leaned her back to a white, soft pillow.

Mireille slipped her hand inside her pocket, and let out the white envelope which had been ripped slightly last night due to the urgent circumstances. Last night - desperate, exhausted, and confused - the Corsican girl broke the envelope's seal and open it, which was a fortunate action as she found money in it, and without much more thinking, rent a room.

Sleepy and weary as she was yesterday, Mireille had not yet analyzed the rest of the envelope, as she fall asleep right the moment her head rested in bed. Now, holding the thick envelope with one hand, the blonde poured the envelope's contain onto the bed's surface. Thick as the envelope was, she saw a sufficient amount of money - mostly yen – and some piece of papers. The blonde ignored the money and took the papers, unfolded them, and begun to read.

_Dear Mireille_.

At the first word, the blonde raised her eyebrows slightly. She never expected Chloe to write a letter for her. Curious for what reason, the Corsican girl read further.

_If you got the chance to read this letter, one thing is sure. Our runaway was not as smooth as I hoped to be. However, whatever your condition is now I believe you are healthy, and out of danger enough to read my letter. In this very same envelope you will find some money which I have prepared intentionally for you to use as effective as you can. Above anything else, I must convince you to rest and regain your strength before you do anything reckless, whatever it may be. If you have managed to rest in the inn at the town I told you, you can rest assured, and relax for a while. No matter how powerful Soldats are, they must behave to other people, which was why you better hide in a town, a public place. But remember that they also might be sneaky, so you better keep watching your back. There is not a single place in the world that is perfectly safe. _

_I am writing this letter, hoping that this may mainly serves the purpose of my absence possibility in telling you what has happened until now. Now, I will explain the situation you are currently facing. Soldats had grown into a powerful company during the time. Based from the information I sought, they had perpetually cooperated with many industries, or companies, which I had not yet gotten the reason for what purpose when I told you about Naomi the first time. Soldats had trapped me, saying some particular plan, which was nothing but fake. When I knew and realized that, it had been too late to inform you because both of you had agreed to just come to Japan. It was partly my fault that you and Kirika were trapped in their plan. And I apologized for that. To make up for it, I have ceaselessly been investigating since then. The result is surprising, but now I am pretty sure that I have truly discovered one of their desires, at least the one involving you and Kirika. _

_Selfish as they were, Soldats seem to have some desire to dominate the world in their own way. Somehow, Soldats had quite raising their knowledge, and increasing their ability specifically at medical field to gain this dream of theirs. They hire, cooperate and join alliance with brilliant doctors. Soldats want to have something strong, different, something that will make them formidable enough to dominate the world so they will have no fear against anything. In order to succeed, they somehow choose to study those medical things. _

_I don't understand their way of thinking as well, but here that they began to think of a plan regarding you and Kirika. Apparently, they still think the two of you as their main threat. At first I'm sure that they thought you two must be eliminated from the world for their sake of success. But somehow, their plan changed. If you have not realized, they have been watching Kirika, studying her all the time instead of trying to kill her. That, was because Soldats changed their tactics and switched from eliminating the enemies to using that enemy. For short, they want Kirika to be their main weapon. Only Kirika. You are not wanted._

_Why Kirika? I jump to a conclusion that Kirika have something really special inside her, something Soldats interested in. It is not something that special in fact, but according to them, she seems to have the greatest possibility above anyone else to serve their goal. _

_I know how this information will make you angry right after you read it, but you must keep reading. Maybe now you are questioning whether why I came to you first instead of Kirika? The answers are: First, Kirika is strictly guarded in a special room I can't get close to without a thoughtful plan. Soldats have treated her differently, which is not likely to be in a good way. From what I heard, Kirika is being kept unconscious all the time for some reason. Why I didn't tell you this faster was to avoid the possibility, which was almost certain that you would go mad uncontrollably and go rescue Kirika recklessly. I don't want you to do that. It's far too risky with your condition. Now that you know how precious Kirika is to them, despite all their treatment and selfish will, you got to believe me for saying that she isn't going to be killed. The other reason of why I saved you first is that you are also the key to their horrible project. _

_All people have this two sides within them; the good one, and the bad one. Somehow, Soldats had investigated those kind of things, and finally discovered a way to 'activate' another side which is less dominating in life than the other. Another plan of them is to activate the dark side of Kirika which they acknowledged as a 'special' one. _

_Literally, one will definitely turn bad when someone hurt their feeling, or done something wrong. A proper action is the only one needed to lead someone into that kind of state. This, I believe is when you take part. Using you, the special person for Kirika, somehow will inflict Kirika's deep, sensitive feeling. Soldats will do something bad to you, horrible enough to disrupt Kirika's calm and turned her mad. They want to hurt Kirika mentally, instead of the common physical harm. My guess, Soldats will kill you, the precious person in Kirika's life, disgracefully, terribly, and exactly right in front of her._

_When Kirika sees you died in front of her very own eyes, I'm pretty sure myself that she will jump out, chasing, and kill the perpetrator. It is almost certain that she will lose her composure and her dark side may pop out, even just the slightest bit. The outrage effect is what they seek because it may 'activate' the dark side of a person, which will ease their project. _

_Why? What for? Soldats want to form a formidable weapon. It is kind of abnormal that their choice of a perfect weapon somehow fell upon a living being weapon, tough. It is still a guess, but Kirika will likely be raised into a killing machine, using her 'special' dark side._

Mireille stopped reading, despite her stern gaze that still fallen upon the very text she had been reading for a while. The last sentence she read had turned out to be the best shocking, compare with the other astonishing information she had just absorbed from the letter in the last two minutes. Soldats, Naomi, Chloe, the plan, weapon, Kirika.. All thoughts mixed up in her mind. Fury begun to rage inside her; her blue eyes flamed in anger, the paper in her hands shaking, as well as her hands.

_How dare you.. Naomi. _

Mireille's mind was full of fury. The plan, if what Chloe said was true, was absolutely terrible. Had she been in the Japanese girl's position, she definitely could not stand the thought of her lover dying right in front of her two bare eyes. Just by imagining the vision of the dearest person in her life was dying, weak, screaming for help, suffering from whatever killing her was painful and torturing. There was little doubt that Mireille would not go rampage, wild, brutal in every way she found possible. She believed that she would definitely chase anyone responsible – the perpetrator of it – until she was satisfied enough to stop. She would seek revenge until the last breath of her life, that one was sure. And also there was no telling how dark, impulsive, menacing, and dangerous she would be.

Mireille shook her head, vanishing the horrible thought of her dark self. She had come to realize the feeling of anger, fear, hatred, even doubt, which had been flaring even more vigorously inside her since she knew the content of the letter. How could one be such a bastard, a maniac to turn a human into a weapon? A killing machine? Too many things had gone wrong. And too many things she failed to do and missed to act. The blonde's jaw unconsciously tightened, and her gaze hardened. Her patience had been overloaded; it was nearly reached the limit. She really wanted to rush to Naomi's annoying base, marched in with full gun shot at whoever she met inside, or even bombed them to dust. She would kill anyone necessary. She would not care who stood in the way. Anyone. For there was no way she would let the Japanese girl used as a weapon. And no way would she let Kirika be used by Soldats. Never as long as she kept alive.

Mireille was about to get up and got ready, but above all her anger, her fury, and her feeling, her dignity succeeded in kicking in. Deep in the heart, the blonde knew that just insisting was not enough. She would need to prepare an exact action, in a proper condition. Mireille heaved out a desperate sigh. Her wounds had not yet recovered, let alone been treated ; it was left ignorantly ever since it was still bleeding for the first time until it felt like freezing and dead stiff like now. Moreover, her head still felt a bit dizzy, and it was very likely that she was still suffering from the fever last time as her whole body was sweating, but felt cold at the same time. Her current condition would not do. She had to rest ; one other day might suffice. A little disappointed for her delayed vengeance and her pity condition, Mireille let her gaze once again focused on the letter as she began to read on the rest of the letter.

_If Kirika really turn into her dark self, my next prediction is that Soldats will then prepare some kind of drug from their best doctor and somehow shot it inside her or any other bad things to control Kirika right away. Or with their high abnormal technology medical knowledge, they may analyze Kirika's mental condition at that raging time, extract it, and somehow discover a drug or medicine which can be used to raise Kirika back instantly into 'that' species. In my opinion, the second option is more plausible. _

_Now I believe that you are quite aware of what position you are in, and what condition you are facing now. But you must remember that with our escape, their plan might possibly change. Whatever it is, not only Kirika, but you are also an important key point to their success. So don't do anything sloppy. If luck is within me, I may meet you again. There, I can help you rescue Kirika back. If I had not yet be seen during your recovery days, you'd better not wait for me any longer. Therefore, you will have to act alone._

_Another advice, that you must stay in the town for no longer than three days. Soldats is definitely chasing and searching for you, even now. The town however, is not pretty far from the place you once escaped from. Don't look suspicious or attract any attention. Play smart. Study the map. Don't underestimate. Use the gun wisely. Furthermore, I wish you and Kirika the best luck for everything. _

_Chloe._

Mireille stared blankly at the letter as soon as she finished reading it. She was worried, really worried about Kirika and also, Chloe. The purple haired girl had helped her so much it could not be listed down by words alone. She provided her with almost everything she needed right now – money, information, a weapon. But the girl's life had remained questionable and unknown for now. No one knew whether the girl survived from the last battle or not. For the first time in her life - after her unexpected rescue - Mireille really hoped to see Chloe again, alive.

Sighing, the Corsican girl folded the letter and slipped it inside the same envelope it was brought out from. As she tugged the money inside as well, the Corsican girl noticed one paper left alone on the bed's surface. She opened it up, and found a kind of map drawing. At the bottom of the paper she read: "Map." Mireille smiled slightly. Chloe had really thought about everything; the map could help her made some more accurate steps ahead. She darted her eyes all over the map, noticing the significant symbol in the map. She found the place Kirika was kept in for an instance - a big room, judging from the picture's size. A while after, the blonde figured out the location she was trapped in yesterday. Those places were marked purposely with a blue cross.

She leaned to sit, and studied the paper a little bit more. She counted the total of the rooms, predicted the best way to come in and out, and so on. Sunk deep down by the curiosity of her next battlefield, Mireille forgot the pleading sound of her stomach of hunger, the dryness in her throat, the stiffness on her left arm, and the fever she was suffering. For an instance, she forgot everything unnecessary beside the map. Time passed quickly with Mireille scanning the map almost the whole day, planning a reliable plan, questioning the possibility of guards, and other things necessary. Her gaze remained steady, her mind thought simultaneously.

It was not until the moon had shown that her inner need screamed in and the Corsican girl finally realized how hungry she was. Taking the gun, the map, and the envelope with her, Mireille stood up from her bed slowly, then left her room and seek for goods and medicine.

Just by walking down and wandering for the first ten minutes, Mireille felt an awkward feeling due to people's curious staring at her. The Corsican girl, confused and perplexed as she was, finally came to notice the source of all the staring. She had not bathed, she smelled, and her clothes were ripped and torn out everywhere, leaving visible holes on the garment. Not to mention that she was dirty enough to make people avoid her as well.

Realizing her physical condition, Mireille rushed towards the shop that sold clothes and all, bought a thick jacket, a red shirt, and trousers she laid her eyes first on, ignoring the 'how-can-she-have-money' stare from the shopkeeper, and ran back to her inn. Once she stepped inside the room, Mireille closed the door and sighed. All of the sudden, a stinging shot of dizziness attacked her. With that, the Corsican girl came back to notice her fever.

The blonde's body fall sit on the floor weakly; her weight barely strengthen by her legs. Sitting on the floor, Mireille found her body weary without energy. She let go her grab of the clothes' bag. Apparently, the fever had grown worse enough to make her once again suffering from her health. Despite all the sweat pouring down from her forehead and her body, Mireille hobbered to bed and fall asleep right after the first touch of the bed on her chin.

An hour of rest, then the Corsican girl finally got better of her fever effect and fit enough to walk on and took a bath. Refreshed by the bath - quite healthy and new - Mireille wore her new clothes and jacket, then once again dawdled outside the inn and bought all she needed to feed her strength and her health. Her new appearance had proved to be effective ; no one looked at her in that devastating way such as before. She ate in silence at a small restaurant near the inn, trying not to attract any attention at all. Finished with her supper, the Corsican girl went to the one and only clinic in the small town, asking for medicine, then went off to her inn again after her left arm was bandaged neatly – which was not by her own accord but rather by the nurse's worried and caring personality. Heading to her room, Mireille stole some glance secretly at the inn's bar just in case she would see Chloe's sign of existence somewhere in town.

Therefore, the sight of no one resembling the purple haired girl caused the blonde sighed once more.

-----------------------

The next day, at exactly three o' clock in the morning, Mireille woke up impassively after her dreamless sleep. The fact that she managed to get up this early had somehow proved a great recovery progress of her fatigue and fever. And regardless of her left arm, she felt much better than yesterday. The Corsican girl grabbed her gun inside the pocket, and walked on to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and got out from the bathroom as quick as she got in. Mireille put on her jacket, slipped the white envelope to her pocket, and after a while scanning her room silently, left the room inaudibly.

Outside, the sun had barely shown up. The sky was lightly dark, the remaining of last night. The flickering sound of leaves by the wind, the vague sound of nocturne's activity, and her own heavy breath were the only things that adorned the silent town. Mireille marched to the same direction she came from the day before yesterday ; she was ready to head off.

Noticing how she was soon enough going to be a fugitive, Mireille felt it would be best to get out of town as fast as she could. Apart from that too, the blonde had begun to feel the unease, dangerous stares again as if she was being watched by somebody. If Soldats played all sneaky and smart, she would do better, and quicker. She had prepared a plan - not entirely a reliable plan, but a worth one to try. She was going to go back exactly at the cellar she once trapped in. She would investigate the boxes, and hopefully, found what she needed – ammunitions. She only had one simple gun, after all. Mireille recalled her first day there back then – she smelled something familiar, some kind of cigarettes and tobacco. It was not quite enough to judge that ammunition was the one inside those boxes, but at least she must try.

As her sweat began to pour down, Mireille saw the bridge, and not much farther, the old village. She crossed the bridge cautiously while narrowing her eyes; searching for people she may encounter. To her relief, she found none of them. With luck, she would go through the old village by causing no harm, neither received some.

Ten feet ahead from where she was before, Mireille had walked down the village with great vigilance ; pointed her gun right away she heard some noise which often just animals' moaning, or turned her back abruptly just to make sure no one was following her. Fifteen minutes later, she finally caught sight of the green field – the back of the storeroom. She ran quickly there without causing any noisy sound, and stopped her step right in front of a hole which was half down her size.

_So far everything's good. _

Mireille assumed that Soldats would likely make some action towards the hole - as it was obviously the only place one could manage to escape from - but the hole was really there; it was neither closed nor destroyed. It might be a trap, but she did not care. Praying that no one would be inside the storeroom - or had it been one hoping that they would not notice her in - Mireille lowered her body and slipped between the holes, pushed the boxes aside, and peered cautiously into the dark, stuffy room. The same piles of boxes still tugged roughly; the same old machines sternly stood in an ignorant way. The Corsican girl prepared her gun, and braved herself to walk deeper in. She dawdled to her chair's direction first, hided between the boxes, and stopped to analyze the room. As her eyes wandered, she felt no one was speaking, nor walking. The room seemed to be pretty safe, and abandoned. Despite all that, the blonde kept silence and hovered for the next minutes just in case somebody would really be there.

A while after, now pretty sure that no one was there beside herself, the Corsican girl stepped lightly to open the box nearest to her. She ripped the seal softly but strongly, and peered inside the box contain. Had the Goddess of Luck existed, Mireille sure was bestowed by her for especially today; the box contain had greatly pleased her. Not only she found the ammo for her gun, she found a lot old dynamites as well. Not even wondering why such ammunitions were stored down here, Mireille checked the condition of it and smiled in relief ; those would still function properly. She jerked in anything she needed inside her jacket, her pockets, and her boots. With those dynamites and all, as well as two boxes of matchstick she brought from the inn, Mireille was ready for the coming fight.

She had studied the map thoroughly. The Soldats base – tough Mireille was not particularly sure this was the base - was not that big and hard to strike despite the member's quantity strength. Based on the map, the storeroom she was currently in was not included at the base part ; it could be said just as a decoration. The base was located right at the center, surrounded by three more other bug building just like the storeroom, each right on the north, south, west, and east side. Those four building were made to block the base center in sight. The base was located underground, which was also the place Kirika might be kept in.

To reach the underground place, all Mireille had to do was just walk out from this storeroom to the base center, and took the stairs down. But stealthy as the base were, there was no joking the stairs that lead to the underground would strictly guarded, even at this early in the morning. She could throw up the dynamites all over the places to attract the guard's attention, but it might as well attract the other's attention at her, which obviously must be avoided. Sighing, Mireille decided to just peer at the condition outside first as she walked to the exit door. She opened it up slightly, and looked carefully. As expected, around twenty guards were patrolling around the stairs. Despite how silly looking the guards were – guarding a stairs – those guard really worked their job and watched the surroundings severely. Mireille thought hard, but found no clue whatsoever. Not that she had no guts to just strike the guards, but the sounds of gun would make unnecessary noise which at the worst case would bring up more and more members to kill.

A flash of movement rustled by. Instinctively, Mireille's body tensed and she instantly turned her back, pointing her gun. Now that she had spun on her heels, the Corsican girl stared in shock as her gun grasped tightly on her hands, and her mouth opened up mutely in surprise. She had no idea what to say. Fortunately the person said calmly first, "Nice to see you."

"..Same here," Mireille said smiling after a while stood silent, seriously shock. Lowering her gun, the blonde added, "Chloe."

Unexpectedly, despite the perilous situation they were in, and despite how unfriendly they were before, the two assassins smiled warmly to each other.

"For the first time in my life, I'm really happy to see you, Chloe." Mireille said, looking at the younger girl. "You finished them off, eh?"

"..Yeah." Chloe replied calmly.

"Any fatal injuries?"

"..No." the younger girl answered. "You've read the letter?"

"Yes." Mireille said in a low voice, "Then you are here to help me, right?"

Chloe raised her eyebrows in amusing way and answered, "Of course."

With Chloe joining her party, Mireille set up a new tactic. The two of them would ambush those guards, considering that knives would not cause unneeded noises. Onwards with the plan, the new pair of assassins burst out of their hiding place the next moment; showed off their abilities, running all over the places quickly and confusingly while also attacking at the same time. Even the guards – aided by their guns - were not allowed to shoot randomly, let alone have a chance. Chloe did the fight mostly; her knives flew silently into man's throat, or stabbed deeply in the guard's heart – all of those actions done in an outstanding speed. Meanwhile, Mireille was the one in charge to avoid anyone report the invasion. She ran to the stairs in an amazing speed, and blocked the guards' way as silent as she could - either punching or kicking. It all proved to work well. It was practically new for them to work together, but somehow they were already shared bonds and above all that, pretty strong with their unusual combination. All the guards on the surface had laid their head silently on the ground by ten minutes.

A bit surprised with their easy victory, Mireille stood at her place and looked bluntly at the scattered men's body.

"We must hurry." said Chloe.

With a small nod as an answer, Mireille and Chloe walked down the stairs - to the very main base of Soldats. As soon as their feet left the stairs and stood on a corridor, around thirty men were already rushing to their way, all roaring animatedly. Noticing the danger, Mireille shot as quick as she could while rolling to the back of one wall to hide herself. The younger girl, already launching her knives from all direction was already nowhere in sight; she had visibly disappeared. The sounds of shooting guns, slashing knives, painful and brutal screaming hung in the air for some minutes. In an unexpected fast motion, the fight had lasted with victory on the blonde's side.

Breathing, Mireille focused her mind to relax and started to keep on. Chloe was already running far ahead before gesturing the blonde to quicken their pace. Their footsteps clattered down the brilliant corridors' tiles as they rushed into the destination. The base was surprisingly huge, with uncountable long corridors all around which made it looked like a maze rather than a base. Moreover, the shining clean gold tiles were so splendid it made Mireille wanted to laugh as her face was visible on it, as if looking at a real mirror. She had expected to see the formal, sorrowful base in here, however.

They passed through many rooms, some of which were obviously abandoned. Sometimes they got to have a battle inside a tiny room - striking, dodging the annoying guards wildly in such little space they had. They kept winning and winning, but after all that, Kirika's room was still further deep ahead; they might encounters lots of other armed- groups like before. The thought become real as after a long minutes jogging along another corridor, the pair met some tough looking men with their huge muscles. This time, the two once again became formidable ; their moves seemed to be well-organized, their thoughts linked, and their purpose had become one. Chloe launched her knives; Mireille shot her gun or sometimes lit the dynamites and threw it far away carefully.

With those unique coordination and cooperation, they passed through one corridor, one level, another one, other, then one more and more. As they were automatically used to each other pair, their action became more and more deathly to the enemies; if some groups of men showed up, they would now finish them in seconds. But still they must pay attention seriously to the number of guards that kept coming along and along - it was really frustrating and tiring. They fought hard, sometimes stopped to keep their breath calm, then defended themselves at first before striking back. Sometimes, a group with more trained skills blocked the way, and Mireille and Chloe got to spend their time longer and tougher, as well as received some injuries. But despite how weary they might have become and all injuries they had, the pair struggle and fought incredibly well today. Not even daring to rest for a minute, Mireille and Chloe fought as hard and as fast as they could. They had decided not to waste any more time to save the brunette.

Mireille shot - she hoped - the last standing guard on her left, then took a deep inhale. Chloe, finished already with her fight, were now looking at her in questionable stare. The Corsican girl flip out the paper on her hand, gazed at it for a while, then nod slightly. "Straight ahead." The pair, exhausted but determined, had passed through all size of rooms, killed many guards blocking the way, run through all kinds of stairs and finally arrived at the deepest part of the base. Based on the map, this corridor did not have a stair and probably the last level of the base. Therefore, there was only one room left. Without no further talk, the pair dashed their feet to the destination room where Kirika was possibly trapped in. This moment might be the last step needed to rescue the Japanese girl back safe and sound.

They would only save their strength for the last battle, considering Naomi would be the one guarding Kirika as the new pair had not seen the female Soldats since they invaded. As soon as they took care of Naomi, they would bring Kirika back up, fast. And all would be over, and everything turned normal as what it was supposed to be.

..Perhaps.

Had Yuumura Kirika's figure not blocked the way while stared menacingly with her gun pointed firmly - at the pair.

* * *

I'm so grateful to those who follow my stories until this chapter..!! Thank you very much, really..! Hope you guys like it.. And again, I'd like to say thanks to all the reviewers.. ! charis-chan, sveta89, vivi the demon goddess of fire.. and all readers! Please review if you can, I'll really appreciate it! 


	17. Chapter 17

**Meet the Parent**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Noir. I just own this fanfic myself!**

Both hands grasping the gun, and pointing it to the object in front of her, Kirika stood steadily, coldly. Her Asian face showed neither smirk nor smile, while her weapon glared at the breathing living beings after her as her brown eyes glimmering in a threatening way to any who saw her. The dark aura hovering between her gradually turned to become more and more visible. It was clear that she was not a woman one would underestimate; she seemed dangerous despite her petite appearance. In fact, she was dangerous. Two women stood in front of the brunette; both obviously struck dead in their feet in great shock as their eyes widen in an even more astonishment. The one standing in front was a tall, pretty blonde dressed with a tight trousers and dusty white jacket, obviously was the result of undertaking a task. The other girl behind, apparently younger, was wearing a green cloak which covered almost all parts of the body except her head, gathering all the mysterious thoughts around her. The girl's unusual hair's colour adorned her white, pale little face which grown in even bewilderment as time passed by without any words being exchanged.

Kirika smiled inwardly. From the appearance alone, she could tell that the two of them were exhausted; their cloths were ripped poorly, their face sweaty as well as dirty of the long fight, and their breath was not calm. And she, on the other hand, was as new as a baby who had just been delivered to the world. She had succeeded in meeting the preys, she could feel the blood flows inside her boiling, signing her eagerness to fight, to finish her task immediately. Her heart pounded animatedly at the view of her preys. They would be her next enemies. She heard voices inside her head commanded her to finish them off harshly, quickly. Without further consideration she usually would.

Yet she realized she had not this time.

Kirika did not really understand. She stood on her current place, simply gazing at the pairs for some long minutes. It was just like in most movies, nobody did anything; they were simply looking at each other. Ironically, the pair gazed back at her; they _stared_ at her as if they had not seen anyone pointing a gun to a person before. Kirika knew she just had to pull the trigger and bang! Everything would be done. As simple as that. But despite all her common sense, the gun that hung on her right arm just pointed proudly but quietly without action whatsoever. Evidently, the user had not decided when to use it yet. The Japanese girl just stared at them, and the pair looked back at her. This was how they looked like physically. Mentally, Kirika felt even more perplexed.

She found it hard to admit, as it was embarassing for her too, that there was this feeling of familiarity that slipped into her heart once she faced the pair. She was an assassin, and feeling was certainly not anywhere in her dictionoary. She just need to kill and tried not to be killed. But strangely, she had unconsciously delayed her prevailing assault. This was weird, considering that she did not acknowledge them. They were complete strangers.

Weren't they?

She did not know who they were, or why they were here. One thing she knew for sure was that the two were intruders. And aside of all that, she could only guess. But guessing had also been a hard thing for her - she realized greatly that for some reason her heart ached painfully at the very first time she saw the blonde who were standing in the front. That was why she changed her gaze into that blank, stolid gaze she usually used to avoid deep eye contacts. Inexcusably, the gaze the taller girl's gave to her felt like piercing through the deepest part of her heart, as if it was jabbed deeply with a knife. Weird.

It was even more bizzare due to the fact that the three of them were just standing there facing each other and doing nothing without saying a word. Even stranger that the pair neither attacked her nor trying to hide when they saw Kirika. The tall blonde was holding a gun on her right arm, and the shorter girl was also grasping two sharp knives on both her hands. Those were weapon, but none of them dared to move or even raise up that weapon. The two definitely were strong for they could not ever reach this level – or in other words, met her - if they had no skill. But regardless, those uncanny feeling, those confusion in her head, and those bizarre combination alone, were sufficient in delaying a sober Kirika to pull the trigger of her gun.

Despite her thoughtful mind, the Japanese girl stared coldly like a statue at the awkward pair. She reminded herself to finish her mission; she had been assigned to kill any intruders in this place. And those two women standing right after her eyes, with battered clothes and unheveled appearance, were unquestionably those intruders.

"Kirika.." it was the one with blue eyes who spoke, the blonde. The word reached out to the Japanese girl's ears smoothly, surprising her inner heart. Before she got the chance to resist, the voice flowed softly like a goddess lullaby - the light, friendly tone she reckoned like knowing.. such a lovely tone had escaped from that beautiful lips.. just like an angel's voice..

Why did she.. feel like that?

Kirika slapped herself from her daydream wonder. She set her gaze sharper at the intruders. Ever since they came, the confusing feeling had haunted her. It was not like her usual self to dwell with such tiny matter, such unneeded problem. But still the Japanese girl could not lie to wonder why that blonde woman could know her name, and why did the fact bother her so much.

"Kirika.." the girl with purple hair whispered softly. "Can you.. lower the gun? It is.. us." she tattered unconfidently.

Kirika remained impassive and said nothing. Both of the stranger women knew her name. But she did know any of theirs. _How?_

Silence filled the air inside the long shiny corridors as the pair did not pursue the subject anymore. The three assassins stood silent staring at each other; voices came only from their hard breathing. Then a while after, Kirika pulled the trigger off and launched a shot at the blonde - which to her dissatisfaction was dodged.

"Kirika!" the blonde exclaimed loudly after she dodged the bullet by rolling at one side. "What in the world.. did they do to you?" the women gazed weakly at the brunette's eyes while her voice suddenly became so weak as if she was about to cry.

"..Kirika?" the green cloaked girl asked roughly. "Don't you know us?! It's me, Chloe."

Kirika remained as silent as a rock and shot another bullet at the girl who called herself Chloe. And as expected, the shot was also dodged beautifully by the quick reaction the girl innately had. But even with that assault, the pair neither fought back nor move their weapon. The only thing they kept doing was continuously staring, staring, and staring at her. Tough they did hold their weapons in ready this time. A sense of survival and vigilance, Kirika thought.

"Don't you remember her?" Chloe asked weakly as she stood up, one of her finger then pointed the tall blonde who was kneeling down on the floor. "..Mireille."

Chloe. Mireille. The names rang something she did not remember.

But what?

The Japanese girl felt a sudden headache striking her. Feeling weak all of the sudden, Kirika dropped her knees to the floor and lift out her left hand to touch her head – hoping to ease the pain, which succeeded after a while gritted her teeth hardly. Kirika stammered to her feet slowly, and pointed her gun to the intruders like before. "Draw your weapon and fight." she said coldly, speaking for the first time as she tried to maintain her breathing from the sudden headache.

"Kirika.." the women named Mireille muttered softly. "Are you okay?" she asked in a worried tone, instead of drawing out her gun. "You are not hurt, are you?" At each word, the women stepped closer to the Japanese girl. Her blue eyes shimmered a worry light, a caring gaze.

Kirika, who in return was stepping back slowly, shot the bullet in her gun at the women's feet to stop the movement. She did not know her and therefore, she could not trust her. They might just pretending, won't they? As the blonde did not slower her pace, Kirika shot out another bullets, and finally after the third bullets, Mireille stopped approaching her and stood at her current place.

"Kirika, please.."

"Kirika.."

Mireille and Chloe kept mumbling the brunette's name, despite the fact that none of it could bring Kirika to respond. She stepped back every one of them said something, and threatened them with a shot._ I just need to kill them. What is wrong with me?_

But the pair determination won the best of the circumstances, they tried to speak something to her, saying something about go back, or get away, and kill a certain person. Kirika did not understand any of it, neither did she understand everything of herself since she met them. Her normal self would kill any person standing in the way. Any one. Yet she could not direct her gun in a right way for some reason.

This was definitely not like her usual self.

Kirika did not know why she just threatened them, instead of killing them. Moreover, it was confusing how she had - or rather let herself - been pushed until this far; her back had now touched the wall. Kirika glared at Mireille and Chloe, and they stared back. At one second, her gaze met the blonde's eyes and all of the sudden, the Japanese girl began to feel dizzy. The headache troubled her again- it was pretty much the same stinging pain from before. It happened pretty often, and she usually won't be worried of it. But this time, it was excruciatingly painful for her it made her lost her balance and forcing her to use all the energy left to keep grabbing her gun. In dizziness, Kirika shot the last bullet in her gun to threaten the pair for the last time, and kneeled down to the floor weakly, breathing hardly. Her heart throbbing achingly, and her breath circulation was not helping either.

Then she started to see something in her head. Flashes of vague memories started to flick inside her head like a book in a fast motion. A huge white room. Doctors and people. Injections. Medicines. Bottles. Pictures of bones, organs, brains. All those visions just popped out in her minds once she stumbled heavily, but before she got the chance to recall all those flashes further, the pictures disappeared and then like a thunder shot, an electrical stinging buzzed their jerking bolt inside her head. Once, twice, more, and more - it kept stinging her head like crazy like a severe punishment for what she saw. She greeted her teeth not to scream, not to let the pain take her self away. But the shot inside her head perpetually kept striking on and on, she began to hear strange voices. It was as if somebody else were inside, controlling her head, managing everything she should see.

"Arrrggghhh!!" Kirika begun to feel so much pain she could not bear her own weight with her knees any longer. She dropped her gun, fell and dropped all the way on the floor while grasping her head with both hand in agony.

_Stop! Stop it!! Stop it!!!_

_Kill them. _

_Please, stop! Stop!!_

_Then kill them. Kill them._

Fighting back the painful feeling, Kirika's eyes had become wet and teary due to her suffering to hold back her cry. The teeth she had been gritting started to bleed, and her hands grasped her own head vigorously, unconsciously scratching herself until it got deeper and deeper with her nails it actually added the pain. She wanted the pain to stop! Yet the thing did not obey; it kept striking her harsher. Sweat began to pour down while at the same time her body turned colder. She was now trembling hysterically and also screaming desperately. The pain was too much for her to bear; her body had come to lose the strength. It was hard to breathe. It was harder to even feel alive. Another bolting shot strike her. Then another. Kirika felt her head might explode anytime.

For the first time in her life that she remebered, she felt weak. And helpless.

Kirika did not realize someone was kneeling down beside her since long, trying to ease her pain - until that person hugged her. The movement was so gentle and strong the Japanese girl could not even resist. But she still realized that the hands holding her were comforting, nice, and strangely, reliable. She was buried into the person's chest, and after a long moment of trying to breaking the pain out of her mind, felt extremely surprised to find such warm and loving touch she had been given. Those hands fondled her head, stroked her hair softly, and touched her arms gently; all to sooth her. In the remaining of her coming sense, Kirika vaguely smelled the soft aromas of the body, and found it relaxing, in a confusing manner. The Japanese girl began to regain her composure; the trembling slowly stopped, and the headache did not hurt her as much as it did before. Still letting herself be embraced, the brunette inhaled deeply in relief for the pain gradually disappeared. Amazingly, she felt so much better. It was incredible how such act could ease her. But much to her confusion, she found the person embracing her was now sobbing.

Curious, Kirika opened her eyes and blinked it rapidly until she could see things vividly. Then, she saw the person who was crying, but never letting go of her grip on her. Kirika's eyes widen slightly when her eyes caught the women's figure; the vision made the Japanese girl felt her cheeks and her entire body became hotter. And worst, tor some unknown reason to herself, Kirika blushed. The blonde women, Mireille, was holding her tightly while sobbed loudly the brunette could not help but felt guilty when hearing it.

A while after, as Mireille realized that she was being watched, she stopped sobbing and looked at the Japanese girl in obvious worry. "Kirika..! Is it still hurting you? Kirika.." she touched Kirika's head and rubbed it cautiously in affection. "How do you feel now?"

Kirika did not answer. She was too busy to argue with her mind. All things had gone uncontrollably, pretty much stressing. She was supposed to kill the intruders, not being embraced by any of them. Truth was that she felt ashamed of her weak self, her soft, caring self. All of it had showed up eventually since she met the intruder pair. What made her felt the worst was the fact that she actually.. liked it - which was why she fought back the cautious act to get off from the hug. It was really strange.. But somehow, this particular woman acted like she knew exactly what Kirika needed right now.

"Are you okay, Kirika?" Mireille asked softly while rubbing her own teary eyes.

Kirika, decided not to be brutal to show her respect, nodded slightly and whispered shyly, "Why.. did you cry?"

"I.. Well.. It's hard to explain. I am jst so glad I can finally meet you.." Mireille stampered uneasily, but then smiled warmly. "I suppose you are alright now, eh?"

_Why did she want to meet her?_ Kirika did not reply as she lowered her head and hided her blush. Their body might embarrassed a glue's function had it cold see them; their sensitive parts were touching and their noses were just an inch away. Not to mention they could just kiss right here and now.

"Kirika.." Mireille hesitated, completely obnoxious to the sensual touch she was giving. "Don't you.. remember me?"

The question was simple yet the effect was outrageous especially in heart for Kirika. She did not have the heart to speak up her answer, and just nodded sternly for the reply.

"Oh.. Alright." the blonde muttered in apparent sadness. Then her face grew confusingly blank, as if she had something in her mind she got to consider.

"Umm.." Kirika whispered softly after a long period of silent moment. "..but you did feel familiar."

Mireille blinked rapidly as if to erase her thought, and then her expression grew happier. "..I see."

"So Kirika.." the voice came from the left side of where Kirika and Mireille were. "Don't you remember _any_thing about us?"

From the corner of her eye, Kirika noticed Chloe walked closer. She was just about to think of the appropriate answer when someone cut her line.

"What a lovely scene.." an unexpected voice joined the conversation abruptly, out of nowhere.

By the time Kirika noticed that there was a person at her back, Mireille had jumped and ran back to another side, still carrying herself in strong arms, obviously trying to hide. The next moment, before she could ever think of what was actually happening, she heard a movement of some sharp things slashing through the air in a very creepy sound. The Japanese girl stole a glance and saw the purple haired girl was fighting.

..with Doctor Naomi.

Doctor Naomi! Kirika's stared in astonishment as her body tensed harder. The mysterious pair did not fight her, yet they attacked the doctor. The doctor who has been really caring and nice to her, who also had given her life. The one and only Doctor Naomi. _Her_ Doctor Naomi! With all her might, Kirika jumped and release herself from Mireille's grip, leaving the blonde's eyes widen in shock.

"Kirika?" Mireille's voice was bitter, as if wandering out of focus.

Frantically, Kirika searched for her gun and run after it once her eyes laid the vision of the object. She took it from the ground, refilled it with new bullets, then pointed it sternly at the blonde. From the noises behind, she could assume that Chloe was still fighting harshly with Doctor Naomi. But she needed not to care about Chloe. The doctor could take care of her alone. And she was pretty far from her.

"Kirika?" Mireille asked while drawing her step closer to the brunette.

Kirika did not answer. Chloe had proved that they were her enemies by attacking the Doctor, which added the reasons why she must kill them, whatever it took. But again, the blonde women did not even take her gun, which made Kirika grew hesitation, despite her wrath. Neither of the pair even pointed their weapon at her, so they did not meant to hurt her. But they hurt Doctor Naomi! Kirika grew even more confused now.

_Why?_

And unfortunately for her even more bewilderment, thanks to some unclear reasons her heart had been feeling, Kirika had to admit that she did not want to kill them unless she was forced to, especially the blonde women. But regardless, she could not be reckless. She pointed her gun in a safe distance at Mireille, hoping the latter to just bring out her gun and do something other than looking.

Yet after some long minutes staring at each other, the blonde stood quietly without making a slightest move.

"Kirika, come here." Doctor Naomi's voice suddenly echoed in the corridor, replacing the noisy sound of booming bullets or slashing knives. Pretty aware that the battle was over, the Japanese girl made a move on her feet to walk back without losing the eye contact with Mireille, who was now stuck in her feet with her blue eyes staring resentfully on Kirika.

"Wait!' Mireille suddenly screamed loudly. "Kirika!" She ran fast towards the brunette, but then stopped with a shot that slash through her right shoulder's clothes, which without doubt was Doctor Naomi's bullet.

Kirika sighed in relief without knowing why. Unconsciously, her heart leaped in fear for a second back there. She thought the bullet would not miss and the blonde would fall down right away. Instinctively, she quicken her pace and stood beside the doctor's figure. She glimpsed a second away, noticing Chloe's body was nowhere to be seen. Then a hand went stroking her hair.

"Good girl." Doctor Naomi said, smiling. Her white teeth glimmered; pretty much contrast with the gold tiles along the corridors. As one of her hand stroking the brunette's hair, the other had pointed the gun at Mireille, who had now slipped herself behind a thick wall.

Kirika's eyes darted all the way, searching for Chloe's body. She gasped inaudibly when she found the body laid weakly on her right, at the deeper part of the corridors. But the girl was still breathing, judging from the weak up and down gesture from her diminutive self. She wondered ho the girl could still be alive, after fighting with Doctor Naomi. _Her_ Doctor Naomi!

But it was fortunate that the Doctor did not realize it. Regardless tough, Chloe was obviously beaten pretty harsh; the girl laid unconscious on the floor as her cloaked ripped and small holes occurred everywhere along the cloth at some dangerous, vital parts of body. Had the bullets really went through there, Kirika doubted the purple haired girl would even stand up again. Whatever was it that Doctor Naomi had done to the girl, Kirika was sure she did not want to see. She knew how dangerous that lady was.

"I'm sorry. I haven't killed.. them." the brunette apologized, half- heartedly.

"It's okay." the reply surprised Kirika. She expected the doctor to be mad at her, after all her slacking. "Are you alright?" the female doctor continued with a smile on her white face.

"My.. my head hurt." the brunette whispered softly, tentatively.

"Ah.." Doctor Naomi muttered. "Then you'd better go to the lab, Kirika. And get some medicines. Or.." She paused for a while, considering something. "No, no. Can you help me tell Franchis to turn on the machine, quickly? Good."

Kirika was about to dashed her feet to meet Franchis, another assistant of Doctor Naomi, when she heard a loud noise of a serene. Doctor Naomi looked at her and said, "That's it. He's done it. You don't need to go, Kirika. Can you hold on the pain in your head a little longer and stay here?"

The Japanese girl obediently nodded. Her head did not ache horribly like it did before, after all. It was just a simple headache she felt now, maybe due to the side effect of the medicine she had this morning. She would get better, she was sure..

Then a short, quiet boom bloomed up, and Kirika caught a glimpse of flying bullet speeding through at Doctor Naomi. Instinctively, the female doctor dodged and jumped to her right while shooting at the same time. Afterward, there were shooting along the corridors, noises and movement of a slight dodging reaction, as well as huffing of tired breathing. She needed not to know who had done it. Kirika slipped herself between an unspotted edge at the corridor, and sometimes ran to shoot the bullets at Mireille who was hiding at the other side of the wall. Unbeknownst for Kirika tough, she did not shoot whole heartedly and precisely at the blonde. On the other hand, Doctor Naomi, who was showing off her prodigy talent at killing and dodging, was hunting Mireille animatedly like a lion hunting its prey.

In the middle of the fight, all of the sudden Kirika heard a melodious sound from far away. It was strange how such lullaby could be heard in the middle of a battle, but the Japanese girl could not help but forced to listen to it. The music flowed smoothly in the air, the soft and peaceful tone adorned the tense air in a slow rhythm. Kirika was sure she had heard this lullaby somewhere. Pushing her mind to think, all she got was the slightest vision of a beautiful pocket watch.

_A watch.._

Then a clanking sound of a metal things falling to the floor disturb the music. Kirika peered ahead to see what happened. But then the lullaby stopped.

"How pathetic." Doctor Naomi said with a smirk on her face. In return of that, Mireille's face turned paler. The mysterious things that fell from before was the blonde's gun, apparently shot by the female doctor. Eventually somehow, Doctor Naomi was standing in front of the blonde with her weapon pointed at the latter's throat, while smiling in victory. "I'm so.. sorry I have no further use of you." The female doctor cooed annoyingly.

Quietly, Kirika walked closer at Doctor Naomi for a better view. They were obviously in victory with Mireille in the doctor's hand, but somehow Kirika now just felt like a knife had just stabbed her heart. The Japanese girl walked faster and decided to stop just a meter before Doctor Naomi's and Mireille's figure. In a short glimpse, Kirika saw the same watch she recalled to see in her mind was resting on Mireille's left palm.

"You bitch. You are the worst, Naomi." Mireille stated calmly, despite how threatened her life had be.

Doctor Naomi pushed the gun forcefully at the blonde's throat. "You still dare to speak? I can just pull the trigger right now, don't you think?"

Mireille did not reply.

The female doctor laughed creepily. "You think you are smart? Invading like an idiot! Even if you had turned down all the members, you can't kill all of us." she muttered. "We don't need you anymore. Our doctors had proved to be even more genius that I can expect! Hahaha!!"

"Shut up." the blonde hissed.

Doctor Naomi scowled dangerously. "This is why I don't like you. You acted like you are the boss. If you have manner, I'd consider using you as well." The female doctor paused, then whispered in a very low voice that meant not to be heard by anyone beside the blonde. "You see her? She doesn't remember anything. Not. A. Thing." she emphasized the last three words. "Only me." the doctor mumbled softly. "I am her mother."

Mireille's eyes widen dangerously. "No. Fucking. Way."

"And she is my daughter. A machine daughter!"

At this word, Mireille kicked Doctor Naomi.

"Son of—!" Doctor Naomi was startled as well but did not let go of her grab at the neck and else, strengthen it. Mireille kept struggling and kicking for a minute, but after all that, she was once again grabbed and controlled by the female doctor, who was now pushing her gun at the blonde's forehead and choked the blonde's throat with the other hand. "..A bitch."

A quick slash which came exactly from Kirika's back broke through the air. A knife was launched at Doctor Naomi. Before Kirika ever got the chance to see and kill the person who threw the knife, two short shooting sound was heard not far from where she stood. Turning back her head once again, she saw Doctor Naomi's body fell off to the floor; and therefore, a pool of blood eventually flowed from her bloody stomach. Seconds passed in silence. Kirika gazed in shock at the female doctor; the pale face she was wearing, the sea of blood which gathered around her body, the stabbed knife on her forehead.

Doctor Naomi was dead. Dead.

Kirika's whole body was shaking with fury. Mireille killed her. Mireille was the perpetrator. And now the blonde was standing just a meter ahead of her, holding the gun of Doctor Naomi on her right hand. Kirika felt raked up. She must kill her.

"Chloe! You okay?" Mireille asked.

"..No." Chloe's cracking voice reflected the pain the girl must be in.

"You—" the blonde halted as she saw the brunette's strange expression. "Kirika?"

Nobody knows how many times Kirika had pointed her gun at Mireille. Numerous times. And she did it again this time.

But this time the Japanese girl was serious. Dead serious. And Mireille could also see it. In fact, the blonde was clouded by half fear, half personal emotion. She realized those eyes, those cold eyes from before. The very same empty, cold eyes she recognized from the former Kirika. The cold-hearted one. The Kirika before she, Mireille, met her, and _changed_ her. The eyes who only saw objects to kill.

The eyes who killed her parents.

"Why did you kill her.." Kirika's voice hissed ominously as she looked up and stared at the blonde. "WHY?!" she bellowed.

Mireille did not answer aside than gazed in astonishment as well as shock. The blonde gulped inaudibly, noticing how perilous the situation had become.

Harshly, Kirika inwardly pushed away the desiring urge to hear her name once again be spoken by the tall women and therefore, felt anger towards those impudent women. They were the reason that she felt so ached at heart right now. Her sense screamed to kill them as a lesson for them. They killed Doctor Naomi. _They_ killed her. For God's sake, she knew she must kill them for vengeance.

..Yet why was her heart screaming to hear that angel voice once more. ? _No._

Kirika shook her head, could not help but feel disgust at her pathetic whim. She let anger occupied her heart, so that she could focus on the task she was left to do. To kill them.

"They must have done something incredibly wrong to her, Mireille." from far away, a voice claimed softly. It was Chloe's. She panted her way through, limping and struggling to get closer to where Kirika and Mireille were.

Kirika instinctively shot her bullet at Chloe, right where the purple haired girl's wound was opened. Accurate as she was, the bullet went through, and Chloe yelped in agony as she fell down to the floor.

Mireille, either forgetting or ignoring Kirika, sprinted to Chloe and hold the younger girl on her arms. "Chloe!" she shouted. "For heaven's sake, Chloe, don't you..!"

"..I won't.." the younger girl retorted weakly before Mireille ever finished her sentences. "If only.. she got normal to her usual self. ..which seems to be even harder now that we have killed that bitch she seemed to love so much." The last comment was so low in voice it seemed to be not meant for anybody to hear.

But Kirika heard it, and she squinched madly in response. She was furious as hell, and there it was, two anonymous girls playing foolish drama, in front of her? And right before her eyes, too. Now she could really feel the hatred burning inside her chest, covering all the human feelings she felt before. And worst, her head started to hurting again.

Fortunately, right before the Japanese girl decided to shot her last two bullets at the enemies in front of her, the Corsican woman spoke up. "Kirika.. Please listen to me." her voice was strangely heavy and steady. The blonde shifted her position, and exchanged glances at Kirika, then at Chloe, then at her own arms. The weariness of the blonde's physical was apparent as the exhaustion was obvious in her voice.

The Japanese girl expected the blonde to preach her last wish or talk about bulshit, but the Corsican girl did not.

"Kirika.. I'm.. sorry. Sorry that I killed her." she said with a broken smile on her face. "I really.. We have to, Kirika." The way she sounded her sentence now was firmer, and steadier. "..You of all people should understand." she whispered the last sentence so softly it was almost inaudible.

_This is ridiculous. _

"Kirika.. We.." Mireille's voice was distant now as the Japanese girl's mind was wondering something else.

_I have to end this mess. _

Kirika saw Mireille gently put Chloe back down on the floor, and stood up in a slow motion and said with a weak smile, "I don't know what they did to you.. But.." her voice generated to an even commanding, steady voice. "I'm not giving _you_ up." she claimed, now looking confident all of the sudden. The blue eyes now gazed at Kirika's brown eyes, and the two stood there motionlessly for a while, both unable to do anything.

_Now. _

With a cold stare on her face, Kirika launched the last two bullets in her gun. One to Mireille, and the other to Chloe.  
BANG! BANG!

She caught a glimpse of the horror in Mireille and Chloe's face, and she could see their astonishment of her unexpected action. Resentfully, Kirika saw the bullet accurately wounding where the heart was on Mireille's body. She had aimed correctly. She knew that bullet going to crash that body, bleeding it to death.

She knew Mireille was about to die.

But yet now, of all the time in the world, her headache assaulted her again, invaded her mind as the pain throbbed the back of her head agonizingly. "Ughh.. Aghh.!." Kirika hissed in agony as everything on her sight became blurry. Her legs felt numb and powerless, and she could no longer stand on her feet after a couple moment struggling the pain.

Her breath became unstable, and her strength was gone she could no longer hold the gun in her palm tight anymore. With the last effort she could ever imagine exist, she peered to where Mireille and Chloe were at, making sure that no threat would be done if she was going to fall. She found Mireille panting her breath heavily, one of her hand covering a certain part of her body - her stomach. It was bloody red now, and even in the middle of unconsciousness, Kirika could see the flowing blood from where the wound was. And as she expected, no one fought back. Not even Mireille, who was still in good position to fight her, before. Chloe on the other hand, was no longer sound alive. No sound was audible from where the purple haired girl last was seen by her.

Feeling bitter despite her achieved goal, Kirika let her strength faded away. Two clanking sound echoed down the corridor. First it was Mireille's gun, then it was Kirika's gun which fell to the floor. The next thing happened was that her powerless body followed on to fall, and she dropped exhaustingly to her knees, focusing all her strength to her hands on the floor.

As if in irony, another clanking sound followed the sound. Another thing was fallen. Yet it was not a gun.

Kirika did not realize what the thing was, she was having much trouble enough with trying to keep herself conscious. Nevertheless, the vague tune was too much for her ears to not yanked with the familiarity. Despite her weariness and her headache, the Japanese girl still caught the unmistakable noise; the melody she really knew. Fortunately, the thought was spoken out of her mind, not too long after she heard the lullaby.

It was the pocket watch.

The song - the melody flowed by with a haunting echo. Right at that particular moment - feelings, memories, and thoughts - all of the sudden raced through Kirika's mind, and the Japanese girl could feel her head was getting ready to explode. The headache was really excruciating. In her head, she saw herself when she was little,holding a gun. Then she saw a school ID. Next, she saw an apartment. And she saw Mireille. Then Mireille again. She thought she was going crazy. But all those events were now rolling in her head, just like reading a tape. Where did all these information come from she did not know. And how did these happen she did not care. She was in a super state of agony, and it was getting worst as soon as she gained more of the knowledge of the invading memories in her head. She was sure that she was going insane, but after a couple minutes focusing her mind,

..she finally realized. She was gaining _her_ memories back.

And now that she knew what she had done, the memories became even more painful. More painful than what her head had suffered.

_Chloe.. _

_Mireille..  
_

_..Mireille. _

"MIREILLE!" Kirika screamed hysterically. "Mireille.. MIREILLE!" Kirika got to her feet and dashed with all her strength left to where the Corsican girls was. Unfortunately for her, her feet did not cooperate this time, she was still dizzy from the sudden headache. Kirika then looked up ahead, and found Mireille somehow was about 9 feet from her.

But the sight of the blonde's figure was killing her. The Japanese girl's eyes widen in horror as she saw Mireille was obviously panting from staying alive, and the Corsican girl was now leaning her back against the wall, her bloody hands covering the deep wound in her stomach as much as possible. Kirika could see how the blonde was shaking, how she struggled to keep breathing. The Corsican girl was trying to poke the bullet off her body, and apparently she had not yet succeeded. Blood was flowing even more than the last time Kirika saw it, and the view was so strikingly stabbing for her heart.

I shot her. I shot her. The word kept repeating back and forth in her head. Kirika hold her urge to commit suicide right at this moment, and instead forced her powerless self to move.

"Mireille!" Kirika yelled one more time as she struggled anxiously to crawl to Mireille's side. The moment the blonde heard her name was called, she looked up, and her gaze met Kirika's.

"Kirika.." the word was mouthed softly from Mireille's lips. The blonde's lips had gotten a color of pale blue, while her face was as white as a corpse. Worst, it was extraordinarily contrast with the color of blood from her body.

"Mireille, Mireille..! I'm sorry. Mireille.. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Mireille.." Kirika crawled hurriedly to the blonde's side, muttering her apologize all the way through.

As she finally got her way over to Mireille, Kirika reached her lover as careful as she could, and embraced the girl with a hug, burying herself in the scent of the Corsican girl. As soon as she noticed Mireille's familiar hand behind her back, embracing her back closer, Kirika sobbed without bothering to control her body's own shakes, and her voice was all cracked. What has she done?! Kirika's eyes mirrored a reflection of a huge worry, and her whole body was trembling for the sense of living she was struggling to maintain. "Mireille.., I'm gonna be right back with some aid kit." she said, shaking with her sobs, now breaking the hug.

"No." the word was whispered really inaudibly, but Kirika's momentum of rushing was stopped as soon as she heard the word. Thinking that the blonde was muttering something out of her will, Kirika struggled to get up to her feet regardless. But again, her movement was now stopped by the cold hand which was now holding her own shaky palm. "No.. Kirika. Stay."

"Mireille.. I got to.." Kirika hissed urgently, her voice filled with worry.

"Stay." Mireille said firmly, fixing her gaze on Kirika's brown eyes, with her hand steady grabbing the Japanese girl's. "I.. want you to stay." the blonde said heavily, panting as she spoke each of the word.

"No, Mireille.." Kirika's eyes were all red now, and a new flow of tears were forming on her eyes. "I know we can still.."

"No.. we can't."

"Mireille, please don't.."

"Kirika.. I know." Mireille insisted with her low, tired voice. "..You also... know." she added softly.

"No, Mireille.." Kirika mumbled. "..It's not what you're thinking, and I'd better.."

"Kirika.." Mireille muttered heavily. "..there's no point. You know better.. than I do."

"Please, Mire--.."

"..You know." Mireille held her gaze still at Kirika's brown eyes, while her hand reached the palm of her lover, squeezing it softly. "It's impossible.. too late..." the sentence was perturbed as Mireille spurted a great amount of blood from her mouth to her shirt.

"Mireille!" Kirika's eyes widen to a really frightening state, while she quickly reached down to Mireille's lips, wiping all the blood on her lover's lips using the shirt she was wearing. "Mireille, stop talking." she said. "Please!!" she added, after she noticed that the Corsican girl was trying to say some other words to her. The result, however, was that Mireille coughed another spit of blood to her shirt.

"Please.. stay with me, Kirika." whispered Mireille weakly, barely audible. "I.. I want you.. to be with me.. when I'm.. leaving.."

"Mire.. Mireille.." sobbed Kirika uncontrollably. Her flooding tears flowing down her red eyes, wetting all the blonde and her own clothes, ruining the blood pattern spreading on both their shirts.. "..how could you say that?" she muttered weakly more to herself, rather than to Mireille. Then the Japanese girl looked up and said slowly, "You are not leaving me anywhere, Mireille.." she sobbed sadly, "YOU ARE NOT!" Kirika's voice echoed down the corridor at her last sentence; it was the expression of her effort of maintaining her sanity of not killing herself right at this moment.

"Sshhh... Kirika.." Mireille soothed the brunette, as her hand once again went through Kirika's hand, and up to the younger girl's hair, pulling their head and body closer and closer to each other. Slowly, as both of them pulled their strength to support one another's body, their lips brushed in a soft, deep, long kiss. It was a pure kiss of love, but full of unspoken passion. Shaking but deadly quiet, Kirika let herself to be hold and kissed still by Mireille, not struggling to move anymore. Time was running out for her and her soulmate, and she was aware of what she got to treasure the most.

When the kiss broke, Mireille, lips blue and pale-faced as she was, vomited another flood of blood to her already red shirt. She coughed and again spurted some blood, and the coughing apparently turning to an even worst situation. Struggling to maintain the shock and fear in her own mind, Kirika wiped the blood while trying to stay as close as possible to her lover.

"I'm sorry, Mireille.." Kirika muttered the apology while crying, her eyes now gazing at the huge hole of Mireille's bleeding heart. She knew there was no way an aid kit alone could help the wound to close up. No way. She could almost see the inside white part of Mireille's body; she could see the flesh, the meat.

"It's okay, Kirika.." Mireille mumbled reassuringly back to her lover.

Kirika's voice was cracked in sorrow as she tried to speak. "No, it's not.. I'm.. I'm so stupid.."

"Sshhh..." Mireille assured the younger girl lovingly and brought their body all closer together.

They huddled together like a pair seeking the warmth of the other, and spoke no word after that. They silently embraced each other, as there was no more time to share for words; one existence was the most important thing to the other one. Together they stayed cuddling altogether, staring into the deep pair of eyes of the other's face. What everybody else would never know was that through all those silent moment, a lot was being shared between them; their thought, their love, their passion, .. their apologies.

It was through that short moment that Mireille told Kirika how worried she was before, and how afraid she was that the brunette might be turned into a killing machine; which she almost did. And it was at that particular moment as well that Kirika beg Mireille's redemption as to causing her a dying consequences. It was during the same time also, that they both shared their love, their thought, everything. Throughout that moment, it was as if Mireille told Kirika how glad she was to find out that the Japanese girl was back to normal, to her usual self; at how she was really happy to find _her _Kirika. One thing that the blonde really ordered Kirika to do was to keep living, and not dwell in regret as she knew the brunette was going to do. All these things had just somehow delivered into both their minds, without any words being spoken, and only through the contact of the eyes.

And finally, Mireille muttered her goodbye.

...Then when the blonde finally closed her eyes forever, Kirika still could not say a word, and only cried in silent.

And the only thing that keep the Japanese girl from commiting suicide herself was Mireille's last whisper to her after her goodbye:

"Please enjoy your life, Kirika. And remember.. that I will always love you."

** THE END**

* * *

Finally I finished this story.. I'm so glad..! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it..  
I'm really sorry for the late update. I have been trying to get online as much as I can now to cover up all my missing update..  
So here it is! The last chapter of "Meet the Parent"! I know it's probably a little bit too.. quick, probably for an end?  
But this is how I have been longing to have as the ending part.. And just in case somebody is wondering about Chloe, you can say that she's dead, too.. (I'm sorry, Chloe's fans!) 

So yeah, please tell me whether you like it or not, and what do you think about the story.  
I'd really appreciate if you drop me some reviews, because reviews are also what keeps me from writing!

I especially want to say thanks to all who gave me some reviews throughout the beginning of my story until its end, I really thank you all for the supports! I can't name you all one by one, but I honestly thank you all from the bottom of my heart.. I hope this last chapter did not dissatisfy you guys..

THANKS FOR READING...


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